Partners will allocate €700 million to Ukraine for the procurement of demining equipment by 2034

The long-term plan for enhancing Ukraine's demining capabilities from 2024 to 2034 includes the allocation of €700 million from partners to procure equipment. 

This was addressed at the 11th meeting of the Demining Coalition, which took place in Vilnius, Lithuania, chaired by Lithuania and Iceland. The event was attended by 40 officials representing 15 countries.

Colonel Ruslan Berehulia, Head of the Main Directorate for Mine Action, Civil Protection, and Environmental Safety, headed the delegation from the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. The Armed Forces of Ukraine were represented by Major General Dmytro Hereha, Commander of the Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The State Special Transport Service was represented by Colonel Maksym Komisarov, Deputy Head of the Administration of the State Special Transport Service.

“Resource and technical assets valued at EUR 16.1 million were procured in the last quarter of the previous year. The budget for 2025 is set at EUR 130 million. As of February, the Central Project Management Agency (CPMA, Republic of Lithuania) has already accumulated EUR 51 million,” emphasized Ruslan Berehulia.

He added that Coalition members were interested in the experience of the Ministry of Defence, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and other components of the Defence and Security Forces of Ukraine, gained over three years of full-scale war. Specifically, working groups will be formed at the initiative of Lithuania and Ukraine to explore the latest approaches to maintaining and servicing obstacle systems, as well as innovations in mine action, such as the use of UAVs and artificial intelligence in non-technical surveys.

Furthermore, Colonel Ruslan Berehulia presented the Roadmap for Demining Coalition Capabilities until 2035, which was approved by the leadership of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, to the leading countries of the Coalition.

During the meeting, Major General Dmytro Hereha briefed the participants on the military-strategic situation and Ukraine's current challenges in demining. He also detailed how the engineering equipment and machinery supplied by partner countries to the Armed Forces of Ukraine is deployed in combat operations.

During the discussions, the Coalition reached a consensus on procurement priorities for weapons, military assets, and essential equipment for 2025.

Reference information: According to the data from the Tony Blair Institute, mines and other explosive devices left by the russians on Ukrainian territory cause annual losses of $11.2 billion.