Our main goal is to make Ukraine free of mine debris by 2033 — Denys Shmyhale

According to the information of the Department of Communications of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Unified Portal of the Executive Authorities of Ukraine

Demining Ukraine is a global project that should unite the world. This was emphasized by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during his speech at the Conference on Mine Action in Ukraine (UMAC-2024), which is being held on October 17 in Lausanne (Switzerland).

"The Russian invasion has left approximately a quarter of our country potentially contaminated with unexploded ordnance and landmines. We are talking about a territory of about 140 thousand square kilometers. This is actually three times more than the entire territory of Switzerland," said Denys Shmyhal.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the lives and safety of millions of Ukrainians are behind these statistics. According to the World Bank, the cost of the full range of humanitarian demining works will be about 37 billion dollars. Also, as the head of the Government noted, Ukraine also needs more than 10,000 sappers, as well as hundreds of units of various equipment.

"This year the Government of Ukraine approved the National Mine Action Strategy until 2033. We also adopted the Operational Plan for its implementation for the next three years. Our main ambitious goal is that by 2033 we have surveyed the absolute majority of the potentially mined territory, and Ukraine is clean of mine debris," stressed Denys Shmyhal.

According to the Prime Minister, several key tasks must be completed on this path:

The first is to create a full-fledged mine action management system.

The second is to form a long-term international coalition for demining Ukraine.

The third is to expand the production of demining machines, as well as the use of innovative methods and technologies.

"And another important task is to raise public awareness of mined areas, as well as to inform people about the risks. We have important achievements on each of these points," said the Prime Minister.

The Head of Government reported that Ukraine is forming a full-fledged market for humanitarian demining services. Today, there are already 56 mine action operators, and this number is growing.

"We involve an unprecedentedly wide range of the latest technologies and tools for demining — from modern specialized equipment to artificial intelligence technologies. One day of work of a large modern demining machine is equal to 100 days of work by hand," noted Denys Shmyhal.

As the Prime Minister noted, Ukraine has already started the production of some of these machines, but needs the support of partners in this direction. These can be joint ventures or localization of production in Ukraine.

Denys Shmyhal thanked the Federal Council of Switzerland for approving a four-year plan to help Ukraine in the field of humanitarian demining in the amount of 100 million Swiss francs.

He also expressed gratitude to Switzerland for organizing the conference, which gathered more than 50 official delegations, and called on the participants to join the Lausanne Call to Action (Lausanne Call to Action), which will be the final document of the conference.