A Russian rocket strike in northern Ukraine on Thursday claimed the lives of two staff members from the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) who were carrying out mine-clearing operations in areas once occupied by Moscow’s forces, according to local officials.
Chernihiv regional governor, Vyacheslav Chaus, confirmed the incident, saying the attack deliberately targeted humanitarian workers. “The Russians deliberately targeted workers from the Danish Refugee Council’s humanitarian demining mission… two people are known to have been killed,” he wrote on social media.
The strike occurred on the outskirts of Chernihiv, a regional capital located about 125 kilometres (80 miles) north of Kyiv.
Ukraine remains the most heavily mined country in the world, with demining missions spread across the north, south, and east, where Kyiv has regained territories initially captured by Russian troops after the February 2022 invasion.
Chaus condemned the attack, saying: “First, the Russians littered the area with explosives and mines. Now they are killing people, civilians who are risking their lives to clear our land.”
Three additional people were wounded in the strike, officials confirmed.
Chernihiv, close to the Belarusian border, was among the first cities besieged when Russian forces attempted to advance on Kyiv at the start of the war.
What You Should Know
Two Danish Refugee Council workers were killed in a Russian rocket attack while clearing mines near Chernihiv, northern Ukraine.
The city, once under Russian siege, highlights the dangers faced by humanitarian deminers as Ukraine struggles with being the world’s most heavily mined country.
