Government expands compensation for humanitarian demining by amending application procedures to the International Register of Damage

Individuals, legal entities, and the State of Ukraine will be able to submit claims under the International Register of Damage (RD4U) for compensation related to humanitarian demining and clearance of unexploded ordnance. The Government adopted relevant amendments to the procedures for submitting claims for damages caused by russia’s aggression against Ukraine at the end of May. The relevant functionality will be made available on the Diia Portal.

“Since the start of the programme, the Centre for Humanitarian Demining has signed 140 agreements for the demining of agricultural land worth UAH 1.8 billion. These are funds spent to clear fields of russian mines, shells, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants. Therefore, it is only natural that demining costs, including humanitarian demining, should be reimbursed by the aggressor,” said Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine Ihor Bezkaravainyi.

Under category B5, “Demining and clearance of unexploded ordnance,” claimants may seek compensation for:

• costs of humanitarian demining (hiring demining operators, purchasing or leasing equipment and machinery for detection and disposal of explosive ordnance, etc.);
• costs of training demining specialists;
• costs of public awareness and education on mine and unexploded ordnance risks;
• state expenditures compensating farmers and agricultural producers for demining their land.

Claims may be submitted by farmers who funded demining of their own plots, operators who used their budgets for training demining personnel, as well as the State, which has spent nearly UAH 1 billion over the past two years to cover humanitarian demining works on agricultural land.

A list of required supporting documents is available via the provided link.

Background

The International Register of Damage (RD4U) is the first stage of an international compensation mechanism for losses, damages, and injuries caused by the russian federation’s aggression against Ukraine since 24 February 2022. Claims may be submitted by individuals, legal entities, and the State of Ukraine, including public authorities and local governments.

After submission, each claim is verified for compliance with the rules and entered into the Register along with supporting evidence. It is then forwarded to a compensation commission, which will assess the merits of each claim and determine the compensation amount. The final stage will be the establishment of a compensation fund from which payments will be made.