The restoration of the ecosystem of Ukraine, which suffered as a result of the large-scale aggression of the russian federation, cannot be started without demining. Cleaning of fields, forests, reservoirs is the zero step in the process of restoring our country, Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy of Ukraine, said during her speech at the United for Justice. United for Nature conference, which took place in Kyiv on October 20-21.

As Yuliia Svyrydenko noted, according to the preliminary data of the Government, in total, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, more than 2,500 facts of environmental damage committed by russia have been documented, including 14 cases of ecocide under investigation. Estimated environmental damage from the full-scale invasion is being assessed in EUR 55.6 billion - and this is without taking into account the damage caused by the terrorist attack at the Kakhovka HPP. At the same time, it grows daily by approximately EUR 102 million. In turn, according to preliminary calculations by the UN, the Ministry of Economy and the Kyiv School of Economics, the damage from the explosion of the Kakhovka HPP is almost USD 14 billion. 

“It is necessary to start overcoming the consequences of russian terrorist acts against the environment now, without waiting for the end of the war. That is why the fight against russian ecocide and protection of the environment are among the top ten priorities of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula. We regularly hold meetings with international partners, members of the working group on the eighth point of the peace formula, chaired by Andrii Yermak. But we are grateful to everyone who participates in this process and helps us overcome this difficult problem. Our goal is to, together with our partners, assess the environmental damage caused by russian aggression, bring the aggressor to justice for environmental crimes, and compel compensation for the damage. I am sure that comprehensive joint work will help us restore the environment and accelerate the green transition of the economy,” Yuliia Svyrydenko said.

As emphasized by First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy of Ukraine, demining the territory of Ukraine is the zero stage of recovery. Today, more than 170,000 square kilometers of the territory of Ukraine are potentially contaminated. More than 6 million citizens are there at risk because of mines and unexploded ordnance. About 800 Ukrainians, of which more than 250 have died, have already become victims of mines. Mines also damage nature - biodiversity, soil and water that are polluted by explosions suffer.

According to Yuliia Svyrydenko, in order to quickly make Ukrainian land safe and reduce future environmental damage, the Ministry of Economy is making maximum efforts in the field of humanitarian demining, working in the following areas:

- involvement of the most modern technologies in the field of demining - remote survey of territories using drones and satellite images, analysis of big data etc. Currently, in cooperation with the American Palantir, the development of the system, which, thanks to artificial intelligence, will analyze big data and will help make demining decisions more effectively, is underway;

- promoting the creation and development of domestic production of machinery and equipment for demining, localization of production by foreign companies in Ukraine; 

- creation of a competitive market for demining services with the possibility of competitive bidding through Prozorro - this will contribute to the acceleration of demining of agricultural land. In order for more agrarians to be able to use the services, UAH 2 billion is provided for for reimbursement of expenses in the draft budget for next year;

- involvement of specialists for the training of sappers and other personnel. Ukraine urgently needs specialists. By the end of the year, it is planned to increase the number of sappers to 5 thousand, which is twice as much as now.

As noted by First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy of Ukraine, work on the draft National Mine Action Strategy together with international partners is currently underway. The working version of the document was presented at the First International Donor Conference on Humanitarian Demining of Ukraine in Zagreb. By the end of November, the draft document will be presented for public discussion, and by the end of the year it will be submitted for approval. The strategy will be a practical document that will contain a unified vision of Ukraine and international partners for demining processes in the territory of our country, Yuliia Svyrydenko noted, calling on those present at the conference to join the work on the draft. 

According to First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy, Ukraine also offers partner countries to take certain areas of demining under their patronage. For example, it can be patronage over surveying and demining of national parks and forest lands, Yuliia Svyrydenko said.