Donetsk, May 28 – DAN. The command of the Ukrainian 72nd mechanized brigade controlling Avdeyevka has prevented a foreign organization from accessing populated areas where humanitarian demining should be carried out, said DPR People's Militia deputy chief-of-staff Eduard Basurin.
"The Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (Fondation Suisse de Déminage, FSD) has been reported working in the 72nd brigade responsibility zone. According to available information, commanders of the brigade had a conflict with the foundation representatives as they were banned from accessing a mined area outside Avdeyevka."
Brigade commander Artyom Bogomolov has not allowed foreign engineers into the areas of Avdeyevka, Novosyolovka Vtoraya, Verkhnetoretskoye for security reasons, despite the fact that the organization's head Hansjoerg Eberle had an agreement with authorities in Kiev that all the territories along the contact line are subject to mine clearance.
Earlier the FSD demined areas outside Gorlovka, but Ukrainian army later mined them again.
FSD's focus is on locating and destroying landmines and unexploded ordnance to prevent accidents. FSD's overarching aim is to alleviate and diminish the social, economic and environmental impacts of landmines and unexploded ordnance, thus creating favourable conditions for the reconstruction and development of war-torn countries. *ot