Peculiarities of humanitarian demining in Ukraine

On 24 May 2024, Igor Dykunskyy, LL.M., Managing Partner of DLF, and Frank Masche, representative of EOD Academy (Germany), delivered a joint presentation at the annual meeting of the German Association for Explosive Ordnance Disposal (Güterschutzgemeinschaft Kampfmittelräumung Deutschland e.V.) focusing on peculiarities of humanitarian demining in Ukraine.

In their presentation, Igor Dykunskyy and Frank Masche described the current situation in Ukraine, in particular, the formation of an open market for demining services and the entry of foreign companies into the Ukrainian market.

They also provided an overview of demining programmes in Ukraine funded by international organisations and the Ukrainian government. According to the World Bank, the total cost of the necessary demining of Ukrainian territories is estimated at more than USD 37 billion. Complete demining of Ukrainian territories will take decades and is a challenge not only for Ukraine but also for the international community.

Thanks to large-scale donor programmes and government support, a market for demining services is emerging in Ukraine, and the relevant legislation is being amended.

Igor Dykunskyy spoke in detail about the peculiarities of certification of demining services in Ukraine and certification of mine action operators, including the certification bodies, the procedure and timelines for certification, etc.

Related article: Certification of demining services in Ukraine

Organisations and companies acquire the status of mine action operators from the moment they receive a certificate of compliance with the mine action processes. Such a certificate is the basis for registration of a mine action operator and its admission to providing mine action services. At the same time, the operator may provide services only in those processes that have been certified (e.g., non-technical survey, technical survey, manual demining).

The German Association for Explosive Ordnance Disposal is an association of competent demining companies, engineering offices, and system providers working in the field of detection, removal and destruction of explosive ordnance. The purpose of this community is to protect the public from the dangers associated with explosive ordnance disposal, as well as to limit the risks to employees of demining companies arising from their dangerous activities by setting quality standards and monitoring compliance with them.

EOD Academy is a nationally recognised training centre for explosive ordnance disposal in Bavaria, Germany.