A Broughty Ferry humanitarian worker has recounted her “close shave” with a missile strike while clearing landmines in Ukraine.
Mairi Cunningham is leading Scottish demining charity the Halo Trust’s work to rid Ukraine of deadly devices.
The 33-year-old has also worked in trouble spots in Syria, Cambodia, Somaliland and the disputed Caucasus region of Abkhazia.
But Mairi says nothing could have prepared her for life in war-torn Ukraine.
‘This is not what I signed up for’, says aid worker Mairi Cunningham
Mairi, who went to Ukraine in November, says no-one could have imagined how things would unfold.
She said: “This is not exactly what I signed up for.
“I’ve worked in post-conflict environments clearing up explosive ordnance, but suddenly living amongst an actual conflict of this scale adds a whole new dimension to the challenges of this job.”
Mairi and her team of 400 deminers are playing a crucial role in helping people living around Kyiv attempt to get their lives back to some normality – removing the threat of mines and unexploded cluster munitions.
She revealed she had her own near miss as the Russians bombarded the country with air strikes.
‘Close shave’ with missile strike
She said: “I had an uncomfortably close shave in Kviv.
“I got delayed heading out for a run up a hill and it was hit with a missile strike at the very moment I’d have been there, had I not been held up.
“The danger and unpredictability of the situation, it can get to you without you realising.
“There is this underlying threat and when you hear air raid sirens frequently.
“That threat is pervasive. You carry on as if life is normal and get reminders that life is not normal.”
Mairi was in Ukraine when Putin’s tanks mounted their invasion on February 24.
She said: “At the time it felt surreal.
“Cafés, bars and restaurants were open as normal and despite the news of troop build-up getting more and more alarming, even in the east we had staff telling us, ‘We’ve lived with this for years, what is different now?’”
Halo’s operations were suspended and Mairi made her way home.
But she returned to Kyiv in April as the Russians were pushed back from the Ukrainian capital, and Halo’s demining work resumed from May.
She said: “I doubt either of my parents are happy with my career choice right now but hopefully they understand why we’re here.
“I think they are proud of the work we are doing.”
Ukraine littered with explosives
Her team is currently focusing its attention in and around Kyiv Oblast.
Mairi said: “There was one site last week we visited where farmers have tractors in their fields and thankfully one driver miraculously survived unscathed after being thrown out of the vehicle when an explosion happened.
“He was driving a truck of sand between construction projects on a rural dirt road and was unlucky enough to hit an anti-tank mine on his way.
“It is people – and children – trying to go about ordinary life who face this threat.
“Ukraine is littered with a colossal amount of mines, missiles and artillery.”
Halo’s demining work in Ukraine is being supported by £2 million of funding from the UK Government.
Graham Stuart, the UK’s minister for Europe, said: “Putin’s illegal use of landmines in Ukraine is deliberately inflicting death and injury to innocent civilians.
“That is why the UK Government supports The Halo Trust’s world-leading demining work.
“Mairi’s team in Ukraine is saving lives and helping communities to rebuild their homes and livelihoods.
“We will continue to support the Ukrainian government in its fight against Putin’s illegal and inhumane war.”
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