Humanitarian demining program gains momentum
27.04.2025
In a live broadcast, the Director of the Humanitarian Demining Center, Volodymyr Bayda, noted that this year, farmers are more actively submitting applications for the program of compensation for demining agricultural lands. In addition, to date, about 20 certified operators have already participated in the auctions.
One of the key conditions for participation in the program is to conduct a non-technical survey, the results of which determine the status of the land plot as contaminated or potentially contaminated.
Non-technical survey is the collection, analysis and assessment of information about an area to determine its likely contamination with explosive devices. During the survey, certified humanitarian demining operators travel to the site, work with local residents, study maps of hostilities, analyze evidence of shelling and use drones to inspect hard-to-reach or potentially dangerous areas. Non-technical survey is carried out without the use of technical mine detection equipment and is a mandatory first stage before demining.
Over the past three years, the Ministry of Defense and the State Emergency Service have done a lot of preparatory work. However, it was with the launch of the state compensation program that the systematic opening of the humanitarian demining market in Ukraine began in accordance with international standards.
At the same time, the director of the Center drew attention to the problem of non-unified information regarding land mining:
"That is why, together with the Ministry of Economy and the State Emergency Service, we are working on creating a Unified Register of Potentially Contaminated/Contaminated Territories. Today, different sources can provide different information about the mine coverage of Ukraine, and for effective work, this needs to change."
The Humanitarian Demining Center continues to explain procedures so that each farmer can safely return to work on their cleared land.