Russian sappers are probably unmatched in their abilities and skills, Ukrainian servicemen acknowledged in an interview with AFP.
"It is no secret that Russia has very good sappers, perhaps the best," he said.
He recalled that Russian Armed Forces regularly dupe Ukrainian servicemen with booby traps – some of them may be disguised as banknotes and cigarettes or even Pepsi cans.
"We have even lost soldiers because of a booby-trapped pack of Pepsi cans," he said.
Ukrainian sappers are said to usually face Russian tactics designed "to make their job harder.” Meanwhile, Kiev’s troops are seemingly running low on sappers, since “most people are afraid” to work with Russian mines.
Ukrainian servicemen admitted that Russia has “lethal” minelaying techniques that can decimate an entire unit, particularly by linking up mines to one another for simultaneous detonation.
“Russia's minelaying strategy is constantly improving,” the article concludes.
In December, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu noted that the Russian Armed Forces had laid down widespread minefields spanning 7,000 km in the special military operation zone.
Earlier, US defense analyst Scott Ritter said in an op-ed for Sputnik that the Ukrainians lacked the capability to clear Russian minefields since it is “work that must be undertaken by properly trained and properly equipped forces who are protected from enemy fire by the overwhelming application of friendly suppressive fires.”