Polish policemen assisted in a secret demining operation in Ukraine

Kateryna Saienko

A group of 98 Polish police officers has returned from a five-month demining operation in Ukraine that remained classified.

Polish sappers were involved in demining the de-occupied territory of Ukraine. The mission was classified due to the possible danger to the specialists.

Mariusz Kamiński, Polish Interior Minister, reported this on Twitter.

Jutro wraz z Prezydentem @AndrzejDuda przywitam i osobiście podziękuję 98 funkcjonariuszom @PolskaPolicja, którzy przez kilka miesięcy na Ukrainie rozminowywali tereny opuszczone przez rosyjskich okupantów. Nasi dzielni Policjanci są już w kraju.

— Mariusz Kamiński (@Kaminski_M_) February 22, 2023

"Together with President Andrzej Duda, I welcome and personally thank the 98 Polish police officers who, for several months, were clearing the territories left by the Russian invaders. Our brave policemen are already back in the country", he said.

Ukraine called for pyrotechnicians to be sent to Ukraine to demine the country.

Wiadomosci reported the Ukrainian government appealed to the ATLAS group members. It is a police task force that unites special anti-terrorist units of the EU. Poland responded to the request since other countries claimed the task was too dangerous.

The Polish group cleared more than 342,000 square meters of land and over 17.5 kilometers of roads in the Kyiv region. They were forced to seek shelter during Russian air raids 129 times during the mission, with none of the team injured. The officers safely removed around 2,000 dangerous objects, including mines, grenades, and grenade launchers.