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The National Interest (22 December 2025)

Sebastian Stodolak

The Caucasus nation contains some of the most heavily mined stretches of territory in the world.

Even after a conflict ends, war leaves its mark. In some cases, the scars of war are found not only in ruined cities and shattered infrastructure but hidden beneath the soil itself. Nowhere is this clearer today than in Ukraine, where Russia’s full-scale invasion has created one of the most heavily mined territories in the world. 

International organizations estimate that nearly one-fifth of Ukraine’s landmass is now contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordnance, making it the largest mined zone in Europe since World War II. Ukraine’s experience illustrates that long after the damage of ordnance ends, landmines continue to kill and cripple citizens and destabilize countries. They prevent displaced families from returning home, obstruct reconstruction, and can lead to decades of hidden suffering.

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