Slovenia hands over two trucks for humanitarian demining to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine has received two trucks purchased with funds provided by the Government of Slovenia through the United24 initiative. They were purchased from a Ukrainian manufacturer under the Made in Ukraine initiative. The vehicles will allow for faster delivery of demining equipment to the areas where the territories are being cleared.
"I thank Slovenia for supporting humanitarian demining in Ukraine. Additional trucks mean greater mobility of our rescue units. It is important for me as Deputy Chairman of the Commission on determining the amount of funds to meet the needs for humanitarian demining that the trucks were purchased in response to a request from the State Emergency Service. Such cooperation allows us to effectively spend the money provided by our partners for the needs of humanitarian demining,” said Dmytro Panshyn, Head of the Humanitarian Demining Department of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, during the ceremony of handing over the equipment.
The governments of Ukraine and the Republic of Slovenia signed an agreement on the allocation of 1.5 million euros for humanitarian assistance in the field of demining in December 2023. The agreement came into force on July 3 this year after the completion of the necessary domestic procedures.
“I know very well how important it is to demine our land. The allocation of 1.5 million euros for humanitarian demining is a very right step by the Slovenian government. And the Embassy team and I are working to ensure that our country's contribution increases,” said Mateja Prevolšek, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Slovenia to Ukraine.
“Next season, with the help of our partners, we hope to have up to 90 demining vehicles at the SESU. This is perhaps the largest fleet of such vehicles in Europe. And I hope that we will be able to clear even more territory. And we really need trucks, because demining vehicles need to be transported to the place of work,” said Andriy Danyk, Head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.
The Ministry of Economy is the manager of the UNITED24 fund for humanitarian demining. Since May 2023, the account has received more than 177 million in hryvnia equivalent. The commission for determining the amount of funds to meet the needs of humanitarian demining under the Ministry of Economy is responsible for the distribution of funds. Funds from the UNITED24 account were used to purchase a heavy-duty vehicle for the SES, and partially fund the manufacture of another vehicle for the SSTS. Also, protective equipment, metal detectors, and sapper kits were purchased for the State Special Transport Service.
It is worth mentioning that the issue of humanitarian demining is overseen by the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko. The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine ensures the interaction of central executive authorities in the mine action field, particularly in the area of humanitarian demining.