Ukraine. Over the past year, 274,000 hectares of agricultural land have been cleared of mines

Last year, sappers surveyed 274,000 hectares of agricultural land, and 208,000 hectares have already been transferred to farmers, First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.

According to Svyrydenko, 274,000 hectares of surveyed land is 58% of what was planned to be done in four years.

Overall, as of the beginning of the year, 174,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian land were potentially mined, and now 156,000 square kilometers are mined.

It is planned to return 80% of potentially mined areas to use within 10 years.

The government has already developed a National Mine Action Strategy and plans to develop proposals to update the law “On Mine Action in Ukraine,” the deputy prime minister said.

Svyrydenko added that this year the government has allocated UAH 3 billion in the state budget to compensate farmers who will buy services to clear their fields from mine action operators. The compensation program should be launched this year.

It is also planned to update the existing standards so that the certification of demining operators and equipment is faster.

Tags: Ukraine, demining