The long-term plan for the development of Ukraine’s demining capacity for 2024-2034 envisages the allocation of €700 million from partners for the purchase of equipment.

This was discussed at the 11th meeting of the Demining Capability Coalition in Vilnius under the chairmanship of Lithuania and Iceland.

The event was attended by 40 officials from 15 countries.

The delegation of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine was headed by Colonel Ruslan Berehulya, Head of the Main Directorate of Mine Action, Civil Protection and Environmental Safety.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine were represented by the Commander of the Support Forces, Major General Dmytro Hereha, Deputy Head of the State Special Transport Service Administration, Colonel Maksym Komisarov.

“In the last quarter of last year, we purchased €16.1 million worth of material and technical resources. The budget for 2025 is planned at €130 million. As of February, the Central Project Management Agency (CPMA, Republic of Lithuania) has already accumulated €51 million,” Berehulya emphasized.

He added that the coalition members were interested in the experience of the Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces and other components of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, gained over three years of large-scale war.

At the initiative of Lithuania and Ukraine, working groups will be set up to study the latest methods of maintaining and servicing engineering barriers, innovations in mine action, including the use of UAVs and artificial intelligence in non-technical surveys.

In addition, Berehulia handed over to the coalition leaders the “Coalition Mine Action Capability Roadmap until 2035” approved by the leadership of the Ministry of Defense.

Hereha informed the participants about the military-strategic situation and current challenges Ukraine faces in the area of demining.

He also explained how the engineering equipment and machinery provided to the Ukrainian Armed Forces by partner countries are being used in combat operations. During the discussions, the parties agreed on priorities for the procurement of weapons, military equipment and necessary equipment within the coalition for 2025.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has recently initiated the creation of an AI-assisted demining range.