The Government’s goal is to carry out humanitarian demining and clean up the areas contaminated by explosive ordnance as soon as possible. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at a meeting of the Cabinet on 11 March.

According to him, today 139,000 square kilometres (or 23%) of Ukraine’s territory remains potentially mined.

“Clearing Ukraine of mine debris as soon as possible is a strategic goal. We have 84 certified operators working on this. 225 demining machines are involved, some of the equipment is made in Ukraine. We will continue to increase this potential,” said Denys Shmyhal.

He also noted that more than UAH 529 million had already been paid to farmers for the services of private demining operators.

“Work on this programme is continuing, and we have received almost 360 applications from farmers. The state budget for the current year has allocated UAH 3 billion for this purpose,” the Prime Minister said.

According to the Prime Minister, the demining coalition of some fifty countries, including the United States, Switzerland, the EU, Japan, Norway, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands and Sweden, has been a successful partnership.

“Together, we will return the land to cultivation and guarantee people’s safety,” the Head of Government said.