Ukraine’s aim is to clear and bring 80% of potentially contaminated land back into productive use within ten years. This was stated by First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko during her speech at the session on humanitarian demining held on 22 June as part of the Recovery Conference in London.

“This is an ambitious goal, but we believe that it is achievable if all participants and stakeholders join forces. Our vision is that in 10 years, Ukraine will become a world leader in the development and application of the latest mine action technologies and an example for other countries in shaping mine action policy,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

According to the First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy, clear coordination between all stakeholders, focus and innovative approaches are required to achieve the goals. The keys to success will be:

• Changing mindsets and standard patterns. It is estimated that 90% of the work in Ukraine will be related to land release and only about 10% to demining. It is therefore proposed to identify low or no contamination among potentially contaminated lands and to bring them back into use quickly. Demining of areas with a high density of contamination will be postponed. This approach will allow the efficient use of resources and the rapid return of large areas to productive use.
• Developing the demining services market. The Government of Ukraine is already working on simplifying the accreditation and registration of new operators, automatic recognition of education diplomas and equipment certificates, simplifying equipment imports, etc. Transparent approaches to the allocation of non-technical and technical survey and demining orders will be implemented. The possibility of procuring demining services through auctions is also being discussed. 
• Use of the latest technologies, including localization of production of modern demining equipment.
• Innovative funding options. In particular, options such as issuing agricultural bonds to support farmers paying for clearing their lands, pre-load investment models, etc. could be considered. 
• Coordination of international donors. At the political level, coordination will be ensured, inter alia, through a donor platform co-chaired by Ukraine, the UN and Japan.

According to Yuliia Svyrydenko, a working group based on the Interagency Working Group on Humanitarian Demining will develop a relevant strategy to be implemented. 

The First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy expressed her gratitude to international donors and foreign non-governmental operators who were already involved in demining in Ukraine. She called on governments, operators and manufacturers of demining equipment and machinery to join the process.

According to Yuliia Svyrydenko, Ukraine needs demining equipment, technical examination, know-how, innovative solutions and technologies, and training for demining teams to speed up the clearance of its territory. Ukraine is also interested in increasing the funding and capacity of international operators involved in mine action in Ukraine.