Dog helps locate mines outside Ukraine city after Russian retreat
Footage released by Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) on Monday, April 4, shows a dog named Patron helping officials in Chernihiv region find mines and unexploded shells left behind after Russian forces withdrew from the area.
The April 4 release coincided with the United Nations’ International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
The footage shows Patron sniffing out objects in the ground, as well as the crew at the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Masany, a village on the northwest outskirts of Chernihiv city.
According to Ukraine’s public broadcaster, Suspilne, the demining team arrived from Luhansk region two weeks earlier. The dog’s handler, Artem Kuzub, said the team was locating mines and others explosives in numerous locations, Suspilne reported.
"We find them everywhere, in residential buildings, there are places in the house, in the yards of houses, and industrial zones, they are everywhere," Kuzub said, according to the Suspilne.
The SES had issued several warnings about mines, detailing some of the different types people may come across, and about unexploded mortar shells. People were urged to keep away from explosives and to alert authorities.
On Monday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russian forces had been pushed out of Kyiv region and were "retreating in Chernihiv and Sumy regions."