The long-term plan for developing Ukraine’s demining capacity for 2024-2034 includes an allocation of €700 million from partners for equipment procurement.
This was discussed at the 11th Meeting of the Demining Capability Coalition in Vilnius, chaired by Lithuania and Iceland, Ukrinform reports, citing the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
As many as 40 officials from 15 countries participated in the event.
Ukraine’s delegation was led by Colonel Ruslan Berehulia, Chief of the Mine Action Directorate of the Ministry of Defense.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces were represented by Major General Dmytro Hereha, Commander of the Support Forces, while the State Special Transport Service (SSTS) was represented by Colonel Maksym Komisаrоv, Seputy Head of the SSTS Administration.
“In the last quarter of 2024, material and technical assets worth €16.1 million were procured. The 2025 budget is set at €130 million. As of February, the Central Project Management Agency (CPMA, Republic of Lithuania) has already accumulated €51 million,” Berehulia emphasized.
He added that coalition members were particularly interested in the experience gained by the Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and other security and defense forces over the three years of large-scale war.
At the initiative of Lithuania and Ukraine, working groups will be established to study modern methods of maintaining and servicing engineering barriers as well as innovations in demining operations, including the use of UAVs and artificial intelligence for non-technical surveys.
Additionally, Berehulia presented coalition leaders with the Demining Capabilities Coalition Roadmap until 2035, which has been approved by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense.
Hereha briefed participants on the military-strategic situation and the current challenges Ukraine faces in demining operations.
He also outlined how engineering equipment and technology supplied by partner countries are used in combat operations.
During discussions, the parties agreed on procurement priorities for weapons, military equipment, and necessary demining tools within the coalition framework for 2025.
According to the Ministry of Defense, citing the Tony Blair Institute, landmines and other explosive devices left by the Russian forces on Ukrainian territory cause annual economic losses of $11.2 billion.
As Ukrinform previously reported, Ukraine has announced its first demining service procurement of the year 2025 based on requests from farmers.
Source: International partners to allocate EUR 700M for Ukraine’s demining equipment
