Today, about 174,000 square kilometres remain potentially mined in Ukraine. This is a huge area that could take decades to clear. Ukraine is going to do this in the coming years. This was emphasised by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during the Demine Ukraine Forum held in Kyiv on 27 September.

"russia leaves a deadly trail behind. Mines are a weapon that remains active long after the war. It does not distinguish between a soldier and a child. The enemy deliberately mines our towns and villages, forests and fields to inflict casualties. Not only to the military, but also to thousands of civilians," said Denys Shmyhal and added that, according to the World Bank, more than USD 37 billion needs to be spent on clearing the mined area.

The Prime Minister said that the Government had already established an Interagency Working Group on Humanitarian Demining to coordinate all ministries and agencies. A Humanitarian Demining Centre is being formed to analyse information, conduct strategic planning and engage in dialogue with partners. A plan to survey and clear agricultural land is being implemented. More than 200,000 hectares of the 470,000 hectares identified as priority have already been surveyed. About 120,000 hectares have been returned to cultivation.

"We have cleared 18,000 kilometres of infrastructure and inspected more than 12,000 homes for mines. We are developing the Strategy and the National Mine Action Programme. Its priorities include demining of infrastructure, public safety, and clearing of agricultural land. Our goal is to clean up Ukraine in a couple of years," the Prime Minister stressed.

At the same time, according to him, Ukraine needs the solidarity support of Europe and the world. No country could cope with such a problem alone.

"What do we offer? First, a willingness to test the most advanced demining technologies. Especially the technology of remote survey of territories. Innovations that will be tested on our land will be mainstream tomorrow," the Head of Government noted.

The second thing that Ukraine offers is the creation and expansion of production. According to Denys Shmyhal, this means supporting Ukrainian producers of machinery and equipment and localising the production of foreign companies.

The third is the creation of a competitive demining market. First of all, a clear and understandable certification system for mine action operators.

"The fourth is compensation for companies that will buy demining services through Prozorro auctions. We can see concrete examples. A pilot auction has already taken place in Zhytomyr region. For the first time, the draft state budget for 2024 allocates UAH 2 billion for the humanitarian demining programme," the Prime Minister said.

Ukraine also needs to attract specialists for training. As of today, according to the Head of Government, Ukraine has about 3,000 sappers, while the need is more than 10,000.

Denys Shmyhal noted that nearly 40 partner countries and organisations have agreed to allocate about USD 250 million, including for special equipment for humanitarian demining. He thanked all the partners who help us clear Ukraine of russian mine debris.