Since 2022 we have reduced the area of territories dangerous for people by 35,000 km² — Yuliia Svyrydenko at the opening of UMAC 2024

The work of Ukraine and its partners in the field of mine action is yielding results. Since 2022, 35,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territories have become safe for people through the joint efforts of the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and non-governmental operators. This was announced by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko at the opening of the Ukraine Mine Action Conference UMAC 2024, which started on October 17 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

"As of 2022, 174,000 square kilometers were potentially mined. Of these, our sappers have already surveyed and returned 35,000 square kilometers to safe use by people. These impressive results have an impact not only on Ukrainians but also on global food security. Today, Ukraine is one of the top ten wheat producers in the world. Ukrainian grain is imported by 57 countries. Therefore, the issue of food security is a key element of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Peace Formula," Yuliia Svyrydenko pointed out.

According to her, at the beginning of 2023, there was no heavy demining equipment in Ukraine, only six demining operators and 1,500 sappers. Thanks to the joint efforts of Ukraine and its partners, today:

a total of 98 mechanical demining machines and over 4,300 sappers are working in the fields;

58 operators have been certified, and another 57 are in the process of certification.

To assist farmers in clearing farmland, the Government introduced a mechanism for 100% compensation of demining services from the state budget. In order to speed up and reduce the cost of clearing the territories, the Government launched a market for humanitarian demining services. Already, 24 tenders have been announced in the Prozorro system and the first successful procurements have taken place. As a result of the bidding, the cost of demining decreased by 18%.

Work is also underway to develop the production of demining equipment and vehicles.

"An important direction for the Ukrainian Government is localization and the development of Ukrainian production of machinery and equipment for demining. This will not only speed up but also reduce the cost of clearing Ukraine of mines and explosive remnants. In addition, it is an investment in the development of the economy, as manufacturing equipment in Ukraine means new jobs and additional tax revenues to the budget," mentioned Yuliia Svyrydenko.

According to her, in Kharkiv, machines for preparing the soil for demining are being built. These machines are already working in the fields. Rover Tech, a company from Lviv, certified a machine called "Zmiy," equipped to inspect up to 2.5 hectares of land a day. Localization is also in progress. Currently, out of 45 mechanical demining machines from Croatian DOK-ING operating in our country, 8 are produced in Ukraine.

"We are also promoting the principle of 'support Ukraine with Ukrainian resources.' We already have successful examples when UN agencies bought equipment produced by Ukrainian companies, thereby supporting our economy. After all, up to 40% of the cost of equipment manufactured in Ukraine is returned to the budget in the form of taxes. And these funds can be allocated to the needs of the security and defense sector," said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

Also, in her speech, the First Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that Ukraine and its partners are mutually active on uncovering progressive avenues funding mine action initiatives. Implementing brand new methods introduces chances tracking covering segments tied toward demining costs across territories bound inside Ukraine.