Rebuilding Lives through Mine Clearance
APOPO’s involvement in Ukraine officially launched in 2023, with scoping missions taking place and a permanent presence began from January 2024. In collaboration with Mines Advisory Group (MAG), the program will address the urgent need for clearance of regions affected by explosive contamination as a result of the ongoing conflict through the provision of Technical Survey Dog Teams (TSD Teams).
Estimates regarding contaminated land in Ukraine are staggering. As of February 2024, over 156,000 square kilometers are estimated as being contaminated due to Russia’s invasion in February 2022 and the ongoing conflict. This makes it the ‘largest minefield in the world’, covering about 30% of Ukraine’s total land area. The severity of the issue prompted a € 2 million grant from the European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) and the United Nations Development Program to call for over $1.5 billion over five years to address this problem.
Officials categorize land as either Suspected or Confirmed Hazardous Areas depending on the type of evidence of landmines or explosive remnants of war (ERW). Although historical evidence from other conflicts points to a smaller percentage of these areas containing actual landmines, it is clear that the problem is significant in Ukraine. With the country in need of land for agriculture and economic activities, accurately identifying and clearing these areas is urgent. The process involves Non-Technical Survey (NTS) and Technical Survey (TS) methods to efficiently outline true hazardous areas, allowing non-contaminated land to be rapidly returned to safe use. This approach ensures that the slow and costly manual demining assets are concentrated on areas with known contamination.
Technical Survey Dogs
APOPO Mine Action personnel visited Ukraine in 2023 to discuss how our Technical Survey Dog (TSD) approach could help accelerate land release within the overall MA Strategy. A partnership was formed with Sumy National Agrarian University (SNAU) to establish APOPO’s dog training center. Unfortunately, after the program started in 2024, the security situation in Sumy made it non-permissive to establish a base there and the location was moved to a kennels facility in Krasylivka, Brovary, just outside Kyiv. Currently, the training of four teams towards Ukrainian NMAS Certification is on-going. Once operational, the initial use of the TSD will be in suspected or confirmed hazardous agriculture areas, with remote-controlled vegetation-cutting machines considered for use in any areas where they might be a tripwire threat.
Initial Training in Cambodia
APOPO registered as a non-profit in Ukraine in September 2023 and began recruiting staff after that. Twelve Ukrainian women from Sumy Oblast underwent training in Cambodia to become TSD Handlers and six of them continued after their return to Ukraine in April 2024. Nick Guest joined as the Manager of the Program in Ukraine in January 2024, initially tasked with program management, certification, habitat building, team mobilization, and operational deployment.
In September 2024, after NMAC Certification, APOPO, sub-contracted to MAG, will deploy four TSD teams in Ukraine, two funded by the EU and two by UNDP. These TSD Teams will work alongside MAG manual teams in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv Oblasts, based on state prioritization.
Innovative Detection Methods
APOPO TSDs are trained to work in vegetation, therefore do not need the area prepared ahead of them as a more conventional MDD would.They can rapidly survey large areas of land and either confirm or deny the presence of explosive ordnance and can better identify the actual areas of contamination. This allows manual demining teams to focus their efforts on confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs), significantly reducing the cost and increasing the efficiency of land release.
The clearance of hazardous areas allows for the safe return of displaced families and the productive use of land. This initiative supports community development, economic growth, and a safer, more stable Ukraine. By restoring safe environments, APOPO helps communities rebuild their lives and secure their livelihoods.
Collaboration with MAG
This program, carried out in collaboration with MAG, leverages the combined expertise of both organizations to maximize impact. Together, we will make significant strides in improving safety and livelihoods in Ukraine. In addition to the EU and UNDP funding, the Government of Flanders has provided crucial funding, supporting the program start-up, accelerating the start of our demining efforts and enhancing our ability to restore safe environments.
We express our gratitude to all our partners and donors for their unwavering support, which is vital to our mission in Ukraine.
