Our main goal is to make Ukraine mine-free by 2033: Denys Shmyhal

Mine clearance in Ukraine is a global project that should unite the world. This was emphasised by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in his speech at the Ukraine Mine Action Conference (UMAC-2024), which is taking place on 17 October in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“The russian invasion has led to the fact that approximately a quarter of the territory of our country is potentially contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance. We are talking about an area of about 140,000 square kilometres. In fact, this is three times larger than the entire territory of Switzerland,” said Denys Shmyhal.

The Prime Minister stressed that behind these statistics were the lives and safety of millions of Ukrainians. According to the World Bank, the cost of the full range of humanitarian demining works will be about USD 37 billion. And this is not the final figure. According to the Head of Government, Ukraine also needs more than 10,000 deminers, as well as hundreds of units of various equipment.

“This year, the Government of Ukraine approved the National Mine Action Strategy until 2033. We also adopted an Operational Plan for its implementation for the next three years. Our main ambitious goal is to have surveyed the vast majority of potentially mined areas by 2033, and to make Ukraine mine-free,” said Denys Shmyhal.

According to the Prime Minister, there are several key tasks to be completed on this path:

The first is to create a fully-fledged mine action management system.

The second is to build a long-term international coalition for mine clearance in Ukraine.

The third is to expand the production of demining machines and the use of innovative methods and technologies.

“And another important task is to raise public awareness of mined territories and inform people about the risks. We have made important achievements in each of these areas,” the Prime Minister said.

According to the Head of Government, Ukraine is forming a fully-fledged market for humanitarian demining services. Today, there are already 56 mine action operators, and this number is growing.

“We are engaging an unprecedentedly wide range of the latest demining technologies and equipment – from modern specialised equipment to artificial intelligence technologies. One day of operation of a large modern demining machine is equal to 100 days of manual work,” said Denys Shmyhal.

According to the Prime Minister, Ukraine has already begun production of some of these machines, but needs the support of partners in this area. These could be joint ventures or localisation of production in Ukraine.

Denys Shmyhal thanked the Swiss Federal Council for approving a four-year plan to assist Ukraine in the field of humanitarian demining worth CHF 100 million.

He also expressed his gratitude to Switzerland for organising the conference, which brought together more than 50 official delegations, and called on the participants to join the Lausanne Call to Action, which would be the final document of the conference.