Ukraine has made significant strides in its demining efforts over the past year, increasing the number of demining operators and machines exponentially. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal made this announcement during the second Demine Ukraine Forum, held on December 2 in Kyiv. By the end of the year, both government and private demining operators will have 151 machines dedicated to humanitarian demining, and the number of sappers has risen to over 4,000 personnel.
"We are grateful to all our partners for providing demining machines, and the number of these machines continues to grow. At the same time, we are focusing on localization and the development of domestic production. Ukrainian-made equipment, as well as machines produced by foreign companies in Ukraine, are already in use in the field and have shown excellent results. We encourage our partners, who want to assist us with equipment, to place orders for new machines with Ukrainian manufacturers. This will be a double benefit: for our economy and for our security," said Denys Shmyhal at the forum’s opening.
An important achievement this year was the opening of the humanitarian demining market, which allowed private demining operators to join the effort. First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Yulia Svyrydenko, shared the results for the year in the sector.
"To assist farmers, we launched a compensation mechanism for demining services, covering 100% of the cost. There have been 31 auctions held in the Prozorro system, resulting in contracts worth nearly half a billion hryvnias. We managed to reduce the initial price by over 17%, saving about 92 million hryvnias. This program will continue next year with 1 billion hryvnias allocated for it," noted Yulia Svyrydenko.
A key focus for the Government and the Ministry of Economy is supporting innovation in the field of humanitarian demining. New technologies, such as using drones equipped with sensors to detect mines, could become game-changers in demining operations, according to Svyrydenko. The Ministry of Economy plans to increase the number of grants for innovators in this field in the coming year.
The forum brought together over 350 participants, including government representatives, international organizations, business leaders, non-governmental initiatives, and demining experts. The thematic panels addressed the economic impact of demining, technologies and innovations in demining, the production of demining equipment, and more.
The Demine Ukraine Forum partners included the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, PUMB, Kyivstar, Uklon, Starlightmedia, the American Chamber of Commerce, and the European Business Association.
