Ukraine needs ten times more specialists for demining – MoE

According to Ukrinform, this was stated by the First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko during a speech at the International Summit of Cities and Regions within the framework of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine, the press service of the Ministry of Economy reports.

"Humanitarian demining of Ukrainian territories requires ten times more specialists trained according to international standards than are currently working. Therefore, the Government expects partner countries to help with the training of sappers," the statement said.

Read also: Ukraine, Bulgaria discuss possibility of resving grain issue – MoE

First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko reminded that about 174 thousand square kilometers of land in Ukraine are potentially contaminated.

"This is the land that is a source of food for about 81 million pele around the world. This is an extremely large amount of work, which Ukraine can accomplish only if it is extremely efficiently organized and only with the help of the international community," Svyrydenko said.

According to her, an action plan for demining agricultural land has been develed. Economically priority regions have been identified, a map of potentially hazardous areas has been approved, and clear and transparent criteria for the order of demining work have been established. A total of 470,000 hectares of agricultural land is planned to be surveyed and demined.

The largest area of contaminated land is in the south and east of Ukraine. More than 208,000 hectares need to be surveyed in Kherson Oblast, almost 160,000 hectares in Kharkiv Oblast, and more than 85,000 hectares in Mykaiv Oblast.

Read also: Ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products requires serious dialogue with Brussels – MFA

The World Bank estimates that the full range of humanitarian demining activities could cost $37.4 billion. According to preliminary estimates, USD 1.5 billion is needed for the priority needs of surveying and prioritizing the demining of agricultural land alone.

As reported, a project has been launched in Ukraine to engage global companies with advanced mine action technogies in demining the territory of our country. The project was initiated by the United Nations Develment Program. It will be implemented at one of the training grounds remote from the combat zone in coeration with the Ministry of Defense and the State Emergency Service in May 2023.