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Detection dogs use Kromek kit to sniff out radiation dangers on Ukraine battlefields

The animals patrol in front of soldiers who receive updates if they cross dangerous territory

A dog wearing one of Kromek's D3S detectors.(Image: Kromek)

Dogs wearing radiation detection technology produced by a North East firm have taken to the battlefields of Ukraine to alert soldiers to potential harm near nuclear power stations.

Eight dogs kitted with pocketsized detectors built by County Durham's Kromek are helping Ukrainian troops to identify risks where there has been heavy fighting near nuclear sites. The detectors - which can pick up low levels of radiation and the type of source - send data back to the soldiers up between 20-30m away via an app that will sound an alarm almost immediately if the dog gets too close.

The devices are strapped to the animals using a harness and are said to be sensitive enough to alert handlers in time for them to get the dogs out of harms way. The dogs - called Rapina, Lilly, Tomy, Bella, Dimico, Zorr, Zyga and Ines - are made up of different breeds including German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois and Dutch Shepherd.

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Before the war, Kromek's equipment has previously been used in robots sent into areas following the Chernobyl disaster. Dogs have been used elsewhere in the conflict for use in mine detection.

Arnab Basu, chief executive of the manufacturer, said: “Because of the nature of the conflict and Ukraine being a nuclear powered country - probably the largest nuclear powered country in Europe actually - the risk of a nuclear incident, and of course all the nuclear waste that is in and around Chernobyl, the fighting around Zaporizhzhia, the chances of radioactivity lying around it is quite high.

"To keep both the dogs and also provide a very strong guidance to the forces, the dogs are equipped with Kromek D3S detectors which are the detectors developed under the DARPA (defence advanced research projects agency) programme and now used in 50 countries. These give a very accurate understanding of dose and also what kind of radiation they are looking at. It does it in an instant.