Ukraine and its partners' efforts in demining activities are yielding results. Since 2022, 35,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory have become safe for people due to the joint efforts of the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and non-governmental operators. This was announced by the First Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Yulia Svyrydenko, during the opening of the UMAC 2024 Conference on Demining in Ukraine, which began on October 17 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

"As of 2022, 174,000 square kilometers were potentially mined. To date, our sapper units have examined and returned 35,000 square kilometers to safe use for the people. These impressive results impact not only Ukrainians but also global food security. Ukraine is now among the top ten wheat producers in the world. Wheat from Ukraine is imported by 57 countries. Therefore, food security is one of the key elements of President Volodymyr Zelensky's Peace Formula," noted Yulia Svyrydenko.

She stated that at the beginning of 2023, Ukraine lacked heavy demining equipment, having only six demining operators and 1,500 sappers. Thanks to the joint efforts of Ukraine and its partners, today:

· A total of 98 mechanical demining machines and over 4,300 sappers are operating in the fields.

· 58 operators are certified, and another 57 are in the certification process.

To assist farmers in demining agricultural land, the government has introduced a mechanism for 100% compensation for demining services funded by the state budget. To speed up and reduce the cost of land clearance, the government has launched a market for humanitarian demining services. So far, 24 tenders have been announced in the Prozorro system, leading to the first successful procurements. According to the result of the bidding, the cost of demining has decreased by 18%.

Work is also ongoing to develop the production of demining equipment and machinery.

"An important direction for the Ukrainian government is the localization and development of domestic production of demining equipment and machinery. This will not only speed up but also reduce the cost of clearing Ukraine of mines and explosive objects. Moreover, it is a contribution to economic development, as manufacturing equipment in Ukraine creates new jobs and generates additional tax revenues for the budget," stated Yulia Svyrydenko.

She mentioned that machines are being created in Kharkiv for preparing soil for demining, and these machines are already operational in the fields. The Lviv-based company Rover Tech has certified a machine called "Zmiya," capable of surveying up to 2.5 hectares of land per day. Localization efforts are also underway. Today, out of 45 mechanical demining machines from the Croatian company DOK-ING operating in our country, 8 are produced in Ukraine.

"We are also promoting the principle of 'support Ukraine with Ukrainian resources.' We already have positive examples where UN agencies have purchased equipment from Ukrainian manufacturers, thereby supporting our economy. Up to 40% of the value of the cost of equipment produced in Ukraine is returned to the budget in the form of taxes, and these funds can be directed to the needs of the security and defense sector," said Yulia Svyrydenko.

In her speech, the First Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that Ukraine and its partners are jointly working on finding innovative approaches to financing demining activities. The implementation of new mechanisms will help cover part of the costs associated with demining Ukrainian territory.