Croatia donates robotic demining system to Ukraine
The certificate was handed over to Ukrainian representatives by Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Defense of Croatia, Ivan Anusic, and managers from the manufacturer company right during the GLOBSEC Forum being held in Prague, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
Anusic noted that the process of demining Ukraine will require much time and funding. According to the official, about 26% of the territory of Ukraine is mine-contaminated, so international support is crucial. Ukraine is “not alone” in this matter, he stressed, adding that Croatia will be helping Ukraine as long as it takes.
In the issue of humanitarian demining, Croatia works with Ukraine both bilaterally and multilaterally, in particular, as part of the coalition led by Lithuania.
Anusic recalled the results of the donor conference, held in Zagreb in 2023. According to the official, almost half a billion dollars was raised at the event, contributing to the success of recovery because humanitarian demining is a prerequisite for reconstruction, economic development, and the return of citizens to their homes, the vice prime minister added.
The Croatian company DOK-ING was founded 30 years ago when the country required equipment to clean its own territory of mines and unexploded ordnance. After the Croatian War of Independence in the 1990s, about 30% of the territory was contaminated so the demining effort is expected to have been completed only by the end of 2026.
DOK-ING produces remotely controlled robotic demining systems. Since the outset of the Russian war against Ukraine, it has handed over 42 such systems to various agencies in Ukraine, with the help of which almost 12 million square meters of territory were cleared, more than 5,600 mines and other explosive substances were defused without casualties on the part of personnel. More than 150 operators have undergone training. The company will soon open its office in Ukraine.
From the Ukrainian side, Deputy Minister of Economy Ihor Bezkorovainyi and Deputy Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine Serhiy Boiev received the certificate and symbolic keys to the system.
