108,000 hectares of Ukrainian land cleared of mines since start of year

Governmental and non-governmental mine action operators have surveyed over 115,000 hectares of agricultural land since the beginning of the year, of which 108,000 hectares have been brought back into economic use.

Source: press service for Ukraine's Ministry of Economy

Details: "Bomb disposal units inspected almost 35,000 hectares of agricultural land in April. More than 115,000 hectares [have been surveyed] in total since the beginning of the year. As of early May, 108,000 hectares have been brought back into economic use for farmers," said Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy.

The official said the pace of this year's survey exceeds the previous year's figures, when, on average, 22,800 hectares of farmland were inspected monthly. The average figure for the first four months of 2024 was 28,750 hectares per month.

However, it is worth noting that the increase in the pace of humanitarian mine clearance is the result of the development of domestic production of mine clearance machinery and equipment and the deployment of foreign technologies in Ukraine.

The minister added that opening the humanitarian demining market will also help accelerate the clearance of agricultural land. This year, UAH 3 billion (roughly US$76.1 million) has been allocated to compensate farmers who purchase mine clearance services on the market.

Background: The Ukrainian government has authorised the State Emergency Service to provide paid conformity assessment services in the field of civil protection, which should boost the certification of mine action operators.

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