144,000 square kilometers in Ukraine remain potentially mined. This was reported by Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Bohdan Drapiatyi during a meeting with a delegation from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).
One of the main topics of the discussions was the issue of landmines in Ukraine amid the full-scale Russian invasion.
Drapiatyi noted that thanks to the efforts of Ukrainian sappers and the support of international partners, Ukraine has managed to clear some previously contaminated areas.
"Due to the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, over 144,000 square kilometers of Ukraine are considered potentially mined. Over a year ago, this figure was 174,000 square kilometers," he said.
Drapiatyi thanked the Japanese partners for their assistance in humanitarian demining of Ukraine's territory, particularly for the training provided to Ukrainian operators in the use of Nikken demining machines.
According to Hiroto Kamiishi, Senior Assistant Director of the Peacebuilding and Recovery Department of JICA, Japanese experts "will work even more actively to organize new training sessions for Ukrainian specialists as soon as possible."
"Our doors are always open for cooperation," he emphasized.
The parties also discussed the implementation of a project to rebuild and modernize one of the training centers of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, which is being carried out under the "Emergency Recovery Programme."
