Forty pieces of demining machinery and equipment have been donated by Japan to demining units working to clear Ukrainian land of mines and unexploded ordnance. The ceremonial handover of the vehicles and equipment took place in Kyiv on 20 November with the participation of Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Kiyoto Tsuji, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, and Ihor Klymenko, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

The ceremony was also attended by Kazuchika Iwata, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, Kuninori Matsuda, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine, and Volodymyr Demchuk, Acting Head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

The machinery and equipment from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Shabondama Soap Co., Ltd. were handed over to Ukraine by Satoshi Sugimoto, Resident Representative of JICA in Ukraine, and Kuninori Matsuda, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine.

“Ukraine is extremely grateful for the support and assistance that Japan has provided and continues to provide since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The current assistance is extremely valuable to us. It will help us to make our land safe more quickly. The donated machinery and equipment will help equip and mobilise at least forty demining teams. This will mean dozens, if not hundreds, of lives saved and agricultural land returned to use more quickly,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

In total, 20 pickup trucks, 20 station wagons and 50 ALIS metal detectors from JICA, as well as 150 containers of fire extinguishing liquid from Shabondama Soap Co., Ltd. were donated to Ukraine.

As a reminder, a number of Japan-initiated or Japan-funded assistance projects for Ukraine have been implemented or are underway. Earlier, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine received 12 rapid response demining vehicles purchased by UNICEF with the support of the Government of Japan and 30 trucks as part of the Humanitarian Demining and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Capacity Development Project. In 2022-2023, UNDP Ukraine, with the support of the Government of Japan, implemented an international technical assistance project in the field of humanitarian demining, under which the State Emergency Service of Ukraine received vehicles for demining teams, equipment, gear for deminers, etc. Projects to improve humanitarian demining equipment are currently being implemented and will continue until 2025. The projects are being implemented under the Grant Agreement for the Programme for Emergency Recovery between the Government of Ukraine and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.