ST.PETERSBURG. June 18 (Interfax-AVN) - Over 1,500 explosive devices of WWII times have been found and defused in the Leningrad military district this year, chief of the district's press service Colonel Yury Klenov said on Friday.
"The district's sappers have found and defused 1,523 wartime explosive devices, including 114 in St. Petersburg," Klenov told Interfax-Military News Agency.
Most of the finds are mortar shells (483 pieces), artillery shells (372 pieces), and hand grenades (123 pieces), he stressed.
According to Klenov, locals have not touched off explosive devices this year. A total of 64 explanatory conversations with locals have been held in 2004, he said.
The authorities of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region provide assistance in equipping sapper units, Klenov went on.
"Dozens of thousands of rubles are provided for purchasing fuel for special-purpose vehicles. The regional government followed the example of the city administration and handed over a Gazel vehicle to sappers free of charge in order to ensure transportation of explosive devices and visits of specialists to mine-clearance sites," he said.