Ukrainians are testing out a jerry-rigged mine-clearing machine made from a farm vehicle with spinning metal chains

• A Ukrainian engineer is trying a novel method of mine-clearance: adapting a farm excavator.
• It's one proposal among many as Ukraine faces colossal numbers of landmines laid by Russia.

A Ukrainian engineer is testing out a homespun approach to mine-clearance, kitting out a farm excavator with rotating chains to root out unexploded ordnance, Reuters reported.

The machine's inventor, an engineer identified only as Vitalii, told Reuters that the heavy spinning chains slam into the ground — or an unexploded mine — with the force of more than 2,000 pounds.

"Any mine, whether anti-tank or anti-personnel, will detonate," he told the outlet. Video of the machine in operation shows the chains, tipped with heavy metal blocks, whirling at high speed over the ground and sending up plumes of earth when they hit a mine.

The design takes inspiration from the WWII-era Sherman Tank, some of which were also kitted out with spinning chains to clear mines, Reuters reported.

To reach further underground, knives can also be attached to the rotating cylinder, Vitalii said. Tests against heavy-duty anti-infantry mines have proved successful, de-mining expert Volodymyr Ozoryan told the outlet.

It's one of several volunteer efforts in partnership with the Ukrainian army, Reuters reported.

Ukraine is now "the most heavily mined country in the world," Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told The Guardian in August. UN mine expert Alexander Lobov has estimated that around one third of the country is contaminated with unexploded ordnance, including landmines.

Russia has laid mines in vast numbers across the entire 600-mile front line. Some minefields are 10 miles deep and present extraordinary difficulties for Ukraine's counter-offensive, as The Washington Post reported in July.

It means that Ukraine, with the help of training from allied countries, is fast-tracking the training of troops and equipment needed to tackle the issue, which is predicted to last long beyond any Russian retreat.

A commander speaking to The Post also said that Western-supplied mine-clearing equipment has proved a disappointingly easy target for Russian artillery to strike. As of July, Ukraine had received only 15% of the de-mining materials it had requested from Western allies, an anonymous source told the Post.

On Monday, the US announced a new $200 million aid package to Ukraine, which includes de-mining equipment.