Ministry of Economy and Environment: Results of humanitarian demining in July

In July, within the framework of the state budget program “Humanitarian Demining” the following was achieved:

• 210 hectares of agricultural land were cleared by mine action operators;

• 2 contracts for demining farmland were completed;

• UAH 13.2 million was paid to mine action operators for completed work;

• UAH 62,900 per hectare was the average cost of land cleared in July under the program.

Currently, work is ongoing under 43 contracts covering about 11,700 hectares of farmland. 100 contracts have already been completed — returning 16,410 hectares to use. The total cost of work exceeded UAH 966.2 million.

In July, the Humanitarian Demining Center signed another 14 contracts for clearing agricultural land with a total area of over 1,400 hectares. The expected cost of demining is about UAH 170 million.

The Humanitarian Demining budget program is financed under the implementation of the Ukraine Facility Plan — a financial support instrument from the European Union.

Within the signed contracts, the Humanitarian Demining Center began clearing land owned by the State Land Bank. Three plots totaling nearly 1,300 hectares are located in Kharkiv region, and another (606 hectares) in Mykolaiv region. Several contracts were also signed for demining land owned or leased by private households, ranging in size from 1.7 hectares to over 73 hectares.

At the beginning of July, a three-day workshop was held in Kyiv to review the implementation of Ukraine’s National Mine Action Strategy and to develop a new Operational Plan. Participants recommended defining innovation development as the fourth goal of the National Mine Action Strategy and transferring part of the current Operational Plan’s measures into the next plan as activities requiring continuous implementation. These include mine clearance planning, rapid response, and strengthening sector capacity. About 80 representatives of government agencies, mine action operators, international and civil society organizations took part in the workshop.

Also in July, 30 specialists from mine action operators and government authorities completed training on safe operations in radioactively contaminated areas. The course included an online theoretical block and two days of practical exercises in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Participants learned to use radiation and chemical reconnaissance devices, conduct appropriate marking, and clear contaminated territory.