First demining operation launched in Mykolaiv region

Priority demining of agricultural lands has begun in the Mykolaiv region. Significant forces from the engineering and sapper units of Ukraine's Armed Forces, pyrotechnic units of the State Emergency Service, and foreign operators were brought to the region.

The Mykolayiv region is the first to have a separated demining operation in Ukraine, says Denys Marchuk, Deputy Chair of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council.

The department said that 11 demining groups are working in the region, attracted by the Defense Ministry.  9 more groups will join them. There are 7 groups operating from the State Emergency Service.

Analysis of the pace of work in the Mykolaiv region, needs, and issues arising during the survey and clearing of the territory will help to optimize the process of demining agricultural lands in other regions as well.

According to preliminary data, more than 470,854 hectares of agricultural land need survey and, if necessary, demining in nine regions of Ukraine (Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Chernihiv, and Cherkasy)

The Ministry of Economy says according to the results of the non-technical or technical surveys, the territory requiring humanitarian demining can be significantly reduced.

It is expected that survey and demining measures will be carried out first and foremost in regions where the problem of territorial contamination is the most urgent.

The clearing of agricultural land will be the most economically justified.

The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klymenko, stated that Ukraine lacks heavy equipment for demining territories.

Territories contaminated by mines and explosives in Ukraine can be the size of Great Britain, according to the HALO Trust, an international demining organization.

The Mykolaiv company Nibulon will develop a new atypical field of activity for itself. It will become an operator for demining territories.