156,000 km² of Ukraine's territory is mined: State Emergency Service tells how to speed up demining

This was announced at a briefing at the Ukraine-Uninform Media Centre by Serhiy Reva, Head of the Humanitarian Demining Department of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

"Thanks to the joint efforts of the Defence Forces and mine action operators, according to the National Mine Action Authority, last year we managed to reduce from 174,000 km² to 156,000 km² the area currently assessed as potentially dangerous and requiring survey and demining," he said.

According to him, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kherson regions are the most heavily mined.

The State Emergency Service also noted that to speed up demining, the key steps are

• Creating an effective system of measures to prevent deaths from explosive ordnance;
• Increasing the number of pyrotechnic units, establishing regional mine action operators in each region;
• introduction of advanced demining technologies.

Reva also believes it is important to inform the public about mine danger and the rules for handling explosive devices.

"To reach more people, especially those living in hard-to-reach de-occupied settlements, we have created 13 mobile mine safety classes," he said.

What is known about demining in Ukraine

In March 2023, the UNDP stated that the area of ​​mined ​​territory in Ukraine exceeds the size of Switzerland by 4.5 times.

In August, the Ministry of Economy stated their hope to demine and return to use 80% of the land within 10 years.

In the same month, Ukraine's first domestically produced ground preparation machine for demining received a certificate of compliance. This development allows for the effective neutralization of anti-personnel mines and detection of anti-tank mines.

On September 22, it was announced that Ukraine would launch a market for humanitarian demining services through Prozorro.

As of October 31, Ukraine had returned nearly 178,000 hectares of agricultural land to use following inspection and demining by sappers. However, the initial plan aimed to return only around 165,000 hectares to agrarians.

On November 6, Ukraine received six DIGITAL VANGUARD-S robotic systems from Canada, which will assist rescuers in remotely neutralizing explosive ordnance.

Swiss company Global Clearance Solutions (GCS) plans to deliver 60 remotely operated demining machines to Ukraine by mid-2024.

In January, deminers surveyed over 21,000 hectares of agricultural land for explosive devices, with the largest area surveyed in the Kherson region.

To expedite demining efforts across Ukraine, the government introduced a unified certification procedure for demining operators during a meeting on February 2nd.