Progress on Ukraine’s National Mine Action Strategy: Two-day workshop held in Kyiv
15.05.2025 | 12:57 | Section for Public and Mass Media RelationsOver two days, more than 80 representatives from ministries, international organizations, operators, innovators, and civil society gathered in Kyiv to assess progress on the implementation of Ukraine’s National Mine Action Strategy and develop updates to its operational plan to better address today’s challenges and needs.
Nearly a year ago, the Ukrainian government approved the National Strategy and the three-year Operational Plan for 2024–2026. For the first time, Ukraine received a comprehensive document outlining key priorities in mine action — from land clearance and risk education to the social reintegration of victims and digital transformation of the sector.
“We approach the Strategy and Operational Plan with a critical mindset. We recognize both achievements and challenges: some tasks are complete, others are in progress, and several need to be reconsidered. We don’t make decisions behind closed doors — we want open and honest discussion with the entire community. Our goal is not just a good-looking document, but real results,” said Ihor Bezkaravainyi, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine.
The first step during the workshop was to assess tangible results. Out of 68 activities in the Operational Plan, 14 have already been completed and 43 are ongoing. Among the key accomplishments: the launch of the National Registry of Contaminated Territories; the inclusion of the deminer profession in the official classifier with an approved standard; new national standards enabling the use of drones and satellite imagery for detecting explosive hazards; a state compensation program for humanitarian demining of agricultural land; the pilot implementation of the GRIT prioritization system; and ongoing efforts to enable digital submission of operator certification applications via the Diia portal.
Participants worked in thematic groups covering all three strategic objectives: clearing contaminated land, reducing the impact of explosive hazards on civilians, and developing an effective national mine action management system.
As a result, participants proposed updates to the Operational Plan. These include canceling an overlapping 2022 government document, expanding compensation to cover forested areas, and conducting a legal analysis to define liability for unauthorized demining and damage to marking systems. Additional proposals focused on increasing innovation in the sector and strengthening support for veterans, women, and survivors of explosive ordnance.
The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change also presented the findings of its assessment of Ukraine’s mine action architecture, emphasizing the need to streamline processes and continue building an efficient and accountable management model.
The workshop was organized by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), and the national platform Demine Ukraine.