The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with financial backing from the Government of Luxembourg, has officially handed over the Mines Eye aerial detection system to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU). Developed in Ukraine, this cutting-edge unmanned technology will help make demining faster, more accurate, and safer.
This was announced by the State Emergency Service, as reported by Ukrinform.
The ceremony of handover, held at the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service in the Mykolaiv region, marked the final phase of a pilot project in which UNDP and the Ukrainian service jointly tested and scaled the latest demining technologies under field conditions.
Haoliang Xu, UN Under-Secretary-General and Acting UNDP Administrator attended the event.
“The Mines Eye system integrates a magnetometer with high-resolution aerial and infrared imaging, enabling remote surveillance of large, contaminated areas. Using artificial intelligence, it can detect explosive remnants of war—including anti-tank mines—even beneath vegetation. The system supplies operators with detailed mapping and anomaly reports, supporting safer and better-informed decisions ahead of manual or mechanical clearance,” the report reads.
The Acting UNDP Administrator underscored the importance of blending local innovation with international backing to speed up demining and recovery efforts in Ukraine.
“Ukrainian engineering ingenuity, strengthened by international solidarity, is helping transform how humanitarian demining is conducted. Our focus is clear: enabling access to land, restoring livelihoods, and supporting Ukraine’s recovery through coordinated, technology-driven and evidence-based land release operations. With tools like this, we can return land to communities more quickly and securely, ensuring safety for those who need it most. Humanitarian mine action is not just about clearing explosives — it’s about restoring safety, rebuilding livelihoods, and unlocking economic potential,” he said.
Over a five-month period, sappers trained through the UNDP surveyed more than 360 hectares of confirmed and potentially hazardous areas across the Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions—two of the most heavily mined areas in the country.
Vitalii Myroniuk, First Deputy Head of the State Emergency Service, emphasized that modern technologies are the key to safer and more effective demining.
In turn, Heorhii Reshetilov, First Deputy Head of the Mykolaiv Regional Administration, notes that the Mines Eye system has become a real breakthrough for the Mykolaiv region, where explosive remnants of war have severely damaged vital agricultural land.
“The Mines Eye system will be fully integrated into the SESU’s operational toolbox and deployed across Ukraine to support humanitarian demining in areas with difficult terrain, limited access, or dense contamination,” added the State Emergency Service.
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As Ukrinform reported, Ukraine signed an EUR 1.5 million agreement with Italy and UNDP to advance humanitarian demining initiatives.
Source: Ukrainian rescuers receive Mines Eye aerial detection system from UNDP
