Mine action operators have cleared three more sites under the state programme to compensate for the cost of demining agricultural land. These are lands in Mykolaiv region with a total area of 131 hectares, which, in particular, were contaminated with cluster munitions. The contracts for demining these areas were signed in October 2024. In total, the operators UDS and Ukrainian Demining Agency cleared more than 618 hectares of land for a total of UAH 19.3 million under the programme.
“It is important for us that the operators were able to clear the land in Mykolaiv region, where intense hostilities were taking place. These areas will be sown with grain or other crops in the spring. The safety of people and economic activity in the areas affected by the hostilities is Ukraine’s recovery, which makes us stronger as a country,” said Deputy Minister of Economy Ihor Bezkaravainyi.
The cost of demining the three sites was UAH 4.3 million. The Centre for Humanitarian Demining transferred the money to the operators after the verification of the sites by the National Mine Action Centre.
“In January alone, thanks to the programme to compensate for the cost of demining agricultural land, we managed to return almost 620 hectares of land to use. This week we plan to transfer funds under demining contracts in Kharkiv region. In February, the first auctions for the clearance of agricultural land will be announced, and we encourage farmers to apply for the programme and operators to participate in the tenders,” said Volodymyr Baida, Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Demining.
This year, applications for participation in the state programme to compensate for the cost of demining started on 23 January. As of 3 February, farmers have submitted 34 applications for land clearance in Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Odesa and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. These are 1,620 plots totalling 7,660.3 hectares. Two of the applications were rejected, while the rest are in progress.