Ukrainian sappers to start demining liberated territories with Swiss-supplied machines

Ukrainian engineer battalion will start clearing the liberated territories with Swiss-supplied GCS-200 mechanized demining machines, the defense ministry reports.

What is the problem?

Active military operations contaminated Ukrainian land with Russian explosive devices. Analysts claim Ukraine is now the most mined country in the world.

In September, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that about 174,000 square kilometers are still potentially mined. This area could take decades to clear, yet Ukraine hopes to do this in the coming years.

What is the solution?

An engineer battalion will start clearing the de-occupied Ukrainian territories using GCS-200 mechanized demining machines.

How does it work?

The machine is the Swiss-German unmanned multi-purpose platform, controlled remotely. Mines are detonated or destroyed by a working mechanism that has a number of modifications and is used in accordance with the conditions in which it operates.

The GCS-200 is highly maneuverable and can turn on the spot with a minimum radius of approximately four meters.

These platforms are used in more than 40 countries worldwide and have proven to be a reliable and effective demining tool, the Ministry of Defense states.

Deputy Minister of Economy Ihor Bezkaravaynyi, who coordinates humanitarian demining, noted that 3,500 Ukrainian sappers are currently working, but this is not enough to clear the areas contaminated by explosive ordnance.

The Swiss company Global Clearance Solutions (GCS) announced in December that it plans to deliver 60 demining vehicles to Ukraine by mid-2024 to help create a safe environment, facilitate civilian life, and save lives.

In May, the Ministry of Reintegration announced the signing of a memorandum of cooperation with Global Clearance Solutions, a Swiss company that manufactures mechanized demining equipment.

At that time, GCS management announced its intention to supply about 20 demining machines to Ukraine this year. They will be used to clear mines and unexploded ordnance from agricultural land and critical infrastructure in the de-occupied districts of Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions.