Ukraine can use Cambodia's approach to demining - Ministry of Economy

Ukraine can adopt Cambodia’s experience of disposal of explosive objects.

This was discussed during the visit of the Ukrainian delegation to Cambodia, the press service of the Ministry of Economy reports, according to Ukrinform.

"Demining should not end only with clearing territory and destroying explosive objects. In Cambodia, with the support of international partners, a holistic approach has been implemented, which includes both demining and assistance to communities and directly to people who start working on cleared land. It is about training, infrastructure restoration, etc. This allows not only to demine territory, but also to have people return and to give impetus to the development. And this is the experience that Ukraine should implement," believes Deputy Minister Ihor Bezkaravainy.

It is noted that in terms of technology involved in the process of humanitarian demining, Ukraine is ahead, but it can borrow from Cambodia the experience of disposal of explosives. In the country, a significant part of munitions has been utilized, not detonated, as explosives were extracted for further use. Thanks to recycling, Ukraine will be able to reduce the number of explosions, which will have a beneficial effect on the environment.

“Cambodia is a reminder of how long explosives can affect people's lives. In 2022, almost 30 years after peace came to the country, 10 people died from mine explosions. This only confirms our intentions to accelerate the pace of humanitarian demining in Ukraine so that fewer people suffer from explosive objects in the future," Bezkaravainy noted.

As reported earlier, Ukraine has more than 170,000 square kilometers of potentially contaminated areas that need to be examined for the mines and UXOs. A significant part of that area is farmland. In order to return them to circulation as soon as possible, the Ministry of Economy will introduce in April a state program to compensate farmers for the costs of clearing farmland of explosive objects, reimbursing 80% of the funds required for demining.