Ukrainian government plans to clear mines from 80% of land in 10 years

Seventeen mine clearance specialists are certified in Ukraine, 29 are in the process of being certified, and another 40 are preparing for certification as of 27 September.

Source: Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko at the Demine Ukraine forum

Svyrydenko says that at the beginning of the year, there were 1,500 bomb disposal experts and 12 specialised vehicles involved in humanitarian demining. Now there are 3,000 people and 29 vehicles.

The number of bomb disposal experts is set to increase to 5,000 by the end of the year.

Quote: "We have a four-year plan to clear 470,000 hectares of agricultural land. 43% of the land has been surveyed since the beginning of the year," the minister said.

The government will build an open demining market in Ukraine with tenders on Prozorro (the Ukrainian public procurement system) and localise the production of specialised equipment, particularly by foreign companies, to achieve the goal of clearing 80% of the territory in 10 years.

The Cabinet of Ministers (the government) will allocate about US$522 million for humanitarian demining next year. Svyrydenko says this should be enough to render 200,000 hectares of fields usable again.

In total, 174,000 sq. km of Ukraine’s territory is considered potentially contaminated. At present, bomb disposal experts have access to only 21%.

Background: Ukraine will launch a humanitarian demining services market through Prozorro.

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