More than 35 thousand square kilometers have been cleared of mines in Ukraine — Prime Minister Shmyhal

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced this at a government meeting, as reported by Ukrinform.

“Ukraine is the most mined country in the world. The conflict has affected more than 174,000 square kilometers of territory. Therefore, the government has identified humanitarian demining as one of the main priorities for recovery,” he noted.

The head of government added that since the start of the full-scale invasion, more than 35 thousand square kilometers of land have been returned to safe use.

“We continue to develop our capabilities. We have 260 demining machines at our disposal. We already have 87 demining machines. Almost 5,500 brave men and women are engaged in clearing our territory of Russian mine legacy,” Shmyhal emphasized.

As the Prime Minister stated, more than 1,000 hectares of agricultural land have also been cleared using state funds, which is important for sowing, harvesting, Ukrainian exports and the economy.

Read also: Sweden has allocated over $7 million for a coalition to clear mines and use drones in Ukraine

“The sowing campaign has already started in all regions, almost a million hectares have been sown. We expect a high harvest, especially of wheat,” the prime minister added.

According to Ukrinform, the area of potentially contaminated territories in Ukraine is about 139 thousand square kilometers, of which 31 thousand are de-occupied zones.

Photo: State Special Transport Service