On September 27, Kyiv hosted the first Demine Ukraine Forum, organized by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and Kyiv School of Economics with the support of Kyivstar and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine.
The event was attended by representatives of Ukrainian government agencies, international diplomacy, foreign donor countries and foreign partners, as well as mine action operators, domestic manufacturers of survey and demining equipment, representatives of the agricultural sector and other stakeholders.
Demine Ukraine is a state program to clear the territory of Ukraine of explosive ordnance and mine contamination as a result of Russian aggression.
During the forum, the creation of the National Strategy for Humanitarian Demining of Ukraine was announced. Culver Aviation also joined the Demine Ukraine Forum.
Together with our partner UADamage, we presented a comprehensive method of non-technical survey of the territory based on a combination of UAV capabilities, satellite imagery and artificial intelligence for surveying mined areas. As part of the forum, Sulver Aviation presented unmanned aerial vehicles of its own design and production, which are planned to be used for humanitarian demining in Ukraine.
The World Bank estimates that it will take more than $37 billion and at least 30 years of work to clear the mined area. Special attention is needed to demine infrastructure, ensure public safety, and clean up agricultural land. More than 44 thousand hectares need to be cleared of mines as a matter of priority.
The goal of Ukraine's government agencies is to clear 80% of the country's territory in 10 years. The main condition for this is a sufficient number of sappers and technical means, including innovative and state-of-the-art demining technologies. These include, among other things, non-technical surveys of the territory using UAVs and computer vision sensors that can speed up demining and return the land to circulation.
More than 30% of Ukraine's territory is considered to be mined. The scale of this crisis is unprecedented, and mines and other explosive devices are blocking the socio-economic recovery of the liberated territories of Ukraine. Without clearing the land of explosive ordnance and ensuring the safety of the population, it is impossible to quickly rebuild the country. Holding the Demine Ukraine forum demonstrates the readiness of the state and international partners and donors to take concrete actions and decisions to accelerate humanitarian demining in the country.
“The unprecedented challenges our country faces today require unprecedented solutions”, said Yulia Svyrydenko, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine.
Currently, the key tasks of the Ukrainian government include launching the humanitarian demining market, creating and scaling up the production of demining equipment and machinery, attracting international support and promoting innovation in this area.
We thank the organizers and participants of the Demine Ukraine forum for their attention and trust in our developments, which can help deminers survey large areas. We believe that through the joint efforts of the government, business and foreign partners, we will be able to create an effective strategy for systematic demining of the country in the coming years and create conditions for economic recovery and the return of people to the de-occupied territories.