「誰かがやらなければ」　義足で地雷除去続ける警察官　ウクライナ

【ハルキウ州ＡＦＰ＝時事】ウクライナで爆発物処理を専門とする警察官のワレリー・オヌリさん（５２）は昨年、地雷を踏んで右脚の膝から下を失った。それでも「誰かがやらなければ」と、仕事に復帰し地雷除去を続けている。（写真はウクライナ・ハルキウ州で地雷除去を行う警察官のアンドリー・イルキウさん）
　ウクライナに侵攻したロシア軍は、一時的に支配していた地域から撤退する際に無数の地雷を残しており、その多くには処理班を殺害するためのブービートラップが仕掛けられている。ウクライナは、その地雷を除去するという果てしない課題を抱えている。
　東部ドニプロペトロウシク州出身のオヌリさんは昨年１１月、南部ヘルソン州で狭い場所に設置された対戦車地雷の信管を外す準備をしていた時に対人地雷を踏み、負傷した。
　「地雷の下にはブービートラップがあることが多い。侵攻初期には処理中に大勢が命を落とした」とオヌリさん。「今では当然、やり方を少し変えている。例えば、複数の地雷が一列に並んでいれば、少なくともそのうちの幾つかはブービートラップだと分かっているから」
　現在、東部ハルキウ州でオヌリさんと一緒に作業に当たっているアンドリー・イルキウさんも、昨年９月、同州内で地雷除去中に負傷し、左脚を失った。
　移動に若干支障があると言う二人だが、義足を見せなければ、他の作業員と目立った違いはない。
　二人が所属する処理班は、同州のキャベツ畑で地雷除去を進めており、回収された対戦車地雷が一か所に集められていた。
　地雷の爆発で足を失っても同じ業務に戻ったオヌリさんは、「自分は人生でこの仕事ばかりやってきた。好きなんだ。それに仲間を見捨てるわけにはいかない」と笑顔で語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/11/10-17:49）

Ukrainian explosives expert Valeriy Onul lost his lower right leg after stepping on a landmine, but it hasn't stopped him returning to his job clearing mines.
Someone has to do it, he said.
Ukraine faces an enormous task to demine areas that were under Russian occupation. The retreating troops left huge numbers of mines, many of which are booby-trapped to kill deminers.
Wearing a bullet-proof vest and helmet and gloves, Onul used a sharp-ended pole to probe the ground and then gently cleared earth away from the top of an anti-tank mine.
The 52-year-old is a police officer specialising in explosives from the Dnipropetrovsk region in eastern Ukraine.
While working on clearing mines in farmland in the Kharkiv region, he pulled up his camouflage trouser leg to show his prosthetic limb.
He received his injury in the southern Kherson region in November last year when he was preparing to defuse TM-62 (anti-tank) mines in an awkwardly narrow area.
During that preparation, I stepped on a PMN-2 (anti-personnel) mine, said the sapper.
The sappers use metal detectors to initially locate mines.
He did not realise the mine was there because it was hidden in difficult terrain with a lot of gravel and shrapnel.
There are a lot of booby traps here under mines. Some of our people died defusing mines, especially at the beginning (of the war), Onul said.
Now of course our tactics are a bit different, he said, adding: We know that for example out of a row of mines, at least a few will be booby-traps.
- 'It worked out' -
Onul has returned to work despite the blast removing his leg up to the knee.
I have done this work my whole life. I like it, and I cannot screw over my guys, he said, smiling.
Onul is working in the field with another explosives expert who has also lost a limb.
Andriy Ilkiv, who works in the western city of Lviv's police department specialising in explosives, lost the lower part of his left leg and foot.
His injury occurred in September last year while demining in the village of Dementiyivka in Kharkiv region.
Until they reveal their prosthetic legs, the men do not stand out within the team, although they say they have some issues with mobility.
Working in a cabbage field in the Kharkiv region, their team has piled up the anti-tank mines they have discovered.
Two sappers crouched on the ground to destroy one mine.
One of them raised an arm and shouted Explosion! before pressing the detonator. There was a huge boom and clouds of black smoke rose up.
Sasha, well done! It worked out, another sapper said, patting him on the back.
video-am/rox