At least five people have been killed and two others injured after their vehicle hit a landmine in a forest in northern Ukraine. the local police said on Friday. TASR informs according to the report of the DPA agency.
The explosion occurred in a border area near the border with Belarus when a vehicle struck an explosive device in a mined area, according to a police statement posted on Facebook. In the case of the victims, they are civilians – men between the ages of 19 and 65, and they succumbed to their injuries on the spot. Two other men were hospitalized, police added.
The photos released by the investigators showed the wreckage of a vehicle in the Zhytomyr region, as well as a warning symbol affixed to a nearby tree, warning of the danger of mines, writes DPA.
According to the police civilians cutting wood near the border with Belarus, from whose territory Russian troops entered Ukraine at the beginning of the Russian military invasion in February 2022. Belarus remains a close ally of Russia in this war, writes DPA. Due to fears of further attacks from the north, Ukraine massively mined the area in the border area.
Ukrainian authorities also reported another mine incident in a nearby forest in which one civilian was injured. The police reiterated that warning signs are in place and that civilians are prohibited from entering the territory within 30 kilometers of the state border. Meanwhile, new Russian artillery and drone strikes have killed several civilians in other parts of the country, the German agency said.
