Early in 2004 the town was reminded of the part it played in resisting attack in World War II when an unexploded German bomb blew up, killing 3 men. The men had been trying to salvage the metals the bomb contained when 2 protective fuses detonated.

Bomb disposal experts were called in immediately. What they saw indicated that the people in the local area were lucky to be alive. The bomb - an anti-submarine depth mine weighing 960 kgs - contained the equivalent power of 700 kgs of TNT.

200 people in the surrounding houses were told to evacuate immediately. A protective "shell" - using huge concrete blocks and 100 tons of sand - was built around the bomb. Because 2 out of the 6 protective devices had exploded, field engineers could not take the bomb out to a safe place, as it was reacting on acoustic, electromagnetic and other influences. Foreign specialists flew in to give advice and documents from German WWII archives were studied.

There was no way the bomb could be defused. The only option was to take the bomb outside the city to be detonated in the grounds of a local military unit. Sensors placed on the device gave the bomb disposal team some good news. The clockwork mechanism was dormant. But the operation would be risky nonetheless.

As the operation began on Sunday morning the city was unusually quiet. 30,000 people had been evacuated. Road blocks were set up to keep curious onlookers at a safe distance. At 9.45 police patrols stopped all traffic in the Red Hill area. Gas and electricity were cut off and people were warned not to use mobile phones and radio transmitters. Police searched the area thoroughly and gave the bomb disposal team the "OK".

They said their prayers and began work at 10.30 a.m. In the first stage, Chief Petty Officer Yuriy Shakov had to lift the bomb with a crane. He raised it 2 metres above the ground and it was left suspended for about an hour. The sensors found no sign of activity. So Shakov could now load the bomb onto a truck where the commander of the bomb disposal team, Captain Vitaly Cheplyaka, laid it on a bed of sand. Once they had done this, it was up to the truck driver, Sergeant Vyacheslav Babchuk. He had to get the truck moving as smoothly as possible - any lapse in clutch control would be fatal! - and drive to the designated site. He then had to bring the truck to a smooth halt.

As he walked away from the vehicle Babchuk felt a huge sense of relief. But he was sad too as he had to say goodbye to his truck! Unloading the bomb was needlessly risky. The truck and bomb were going to explode together.

A group of men hung 30 kg of explosives on the bomb and hid in a shelter. They were at a safe distance - more than 2 kilometres away - but they felt the ground rock all the same. Once the dust had settled everyone shook hands. The 3 members of the bomb disposal team were keen to get home where anxious wives and children were waiting. The President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, awarded medals to all the direct participants.