Ukraine unveils third domestic demining vehicle

The Ministry of Economy's press service reports.

"We pay great attention to supporting domestic inventors and manufacturers working in the field of mine action. Establishing production of necessary equipment and machinery in Ukraine will allow us to meet the needs of operators more quickly and at a lower cost. Additionally, this creates new jobs in production facilities and contributes to the budget," noted the head of the department, Yulia Svyrydenko.

The new demining vehicle, in terms of its characteristics, is on par with the best Western counterparts, emphasized the ministry. The Ukrainian machine is based on the chassis of the T-156 tractor and is capable of clearing 5,000 square meters of land per hour. This is approximately the same as the Croatian DOK-ING MV-10, noted the Ministry of Economy.

The domestic innovation also demonstrated an impressively high soil processing density, with only a 2-centimeter distance between the strips treated by the machine's working mechanism.

The Ministry of Economy is confident in the demand for the machine in Ukraine.

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.