Humanitarian demining: 2025 results

Over 12,000 hectares of agricultural land have been returned to productive use by mine action operators under the state programme for compensation of demining costs. In total, 61 contracts concluded by the Center for Humanitarian Demining with auction winners were fulfilled during the year. The total value of the work amounted to almost UAH 713 million.

«A full year of the state agricultural land demining compensation programme is the main achievement in the field of humanitarian demining for me. As of now, we have already returned over 12,000 hectares. This year alone, the Center for Humanitarian Demining has signed contracts for the clearance of more than 17,000 hectares worth UAH 1.17 billion. The launch of the programme has created demand from market players for demining machines, new technologies, and services provided by the state,» noted Deputy Minister of Economy Ihor Bezkaravainyi.

An important step was the expansion of the compensation programme to include households. Owners or lessees of agricultural plots can also apply for demining if their lands have been affected by the war. According to preliminary estimates, approximately one million hectares of agricultural land meet these criteria. By the end of the year, there are already dozens of applications from individual farmers who meet the programme's conditions.

In 2025, the Ministry of Economy actively worked on simplifying the certification procedure for mine action operators. In May, the government adopted a decision that launched the possibility of certification for most processes through the Diia portal, and by autumn, the Ministry, together with partners, presented the necessary functionality. Operators who have used this opportunity note the speed and convenience of application submission and review. In total, in 2025, the number of mine action operators nearly doubled — from 73 to 134.

Ukraine continues to maintain the support of international partners, whose contribution to humanitarian demining has reached USD 1.5 billion equivalent. In particular, additional commitments of USD 80 million were announced by partners at the annual Ukraine Mine Action Conference 2025, which this year was hosted by Japan. Representatives from 57 countries participated in the event, including foreign ministers of Japan, Croatia, Lithuania, and Sweden, as well as heads of relevant EU, UN, and leading international organisations. This demonstrates the high level of attention to the problem of mine contamination in Ukrainian territories and joint efforts towards its resolution.

With the support of partners, work continues on the development of the digital platform for planning, prioritisation, and monitoring of humanitarian demining — GRIT. It was presented by Ihor Bezkaravainyi during the Demine Ukraine Forum, emphasising the broad range of applications of this digital tool.