The European Union has allocated EUR2m for a new humanitarian demining program in Ukraine, under which Ukrainian cynologists with specially trained dogs will search for and clear unexploded ordnance, the press service of the EU Delegation in Ukraine has reported.
According to the report, the project is funded by the European Commission’s Foreign Policy Instruments Service (FPI) and is being implemented jointly with humanitarian mine action organizations APOPO, which specializes in the use of animals for demining, and Mines Advisory Group (MAG).
“The 16 Belgian Malinois will be the first technical reconnaissance dogs to be deployed in Ukraine. Together with their eight guides, all of whom are Ukrainians, they underwent extensive training in Cambodia for five months before returning to Ukraine,” the statement said.
The EU Delegation in Ukraine specified that many of the dog handlers had previously studied dog training at the Sumy National Agrarian University and were trained in manual demining.
The dogs will be used to complement the MAG’s manual and mechanized demining efforts in liberated Ukrainian territories, including in the Mykolaiv, Kherson and Kharkiv regions.
“We are pleased to be able to fund this initiative as part of the EU’s support to improve and scale up humanitarian mine action in Ukraine. We believe this innovative project can significantly accelerate the cleanup of contaminated land and its release for civilian use,” said FPI Director Peter M. Wagner.
Under certain conditions, teams of technical reconnaissance dogs can survey large tracts of land much faster than bomb squads, identifying explosive hazards and helping to confirm the safety of an area. If teams with dogs find a mine or unexploded ordnance, MAG deminers will be tasked to defuse the item, the EU Delegation to Ukraine explained.
MAG Ukraine Director John Cunliffe believes that dogs have the potential to significantly speed up the cleanup of certain types of terrain and contamination. “They can be a really important tool in combination with traditional manual and mechanized demining teams,” he added.
“The EU commitment will allow us to return supposedly contaminated land to the Ukrainian people much more quickly than would otherwise be the case. We will be recruiting and training new handlers in the coming months as we scale up our operations,” said APOPO Ukraine Program Manager Nick Gest.
The European Commission’s Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) service implements the EU’s foreign policy. Humanitarian mine action is a key element of the support FPI has mobilized for Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. Its total funding to date amounts to EUR55 million.
APOPO is a global provider of mine detection animals that has developed effective mine clearance technology that is implemented in low-income countries. The organization protects people from the risk of landmines and other consequences of war. APOPO employs more than 450 people in 10 countries.
Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation are raising UAH 175 million as part of the We Live Here project to provide transport and equipment for 146 engineering and demining groups of the Armed Forces Support Forces. SOVA jewelry house joined the initiative by creating silver pendants inspired by the motifs of a historic Ukrainian hut. All the proceeds from the sale of the limited edition jewelry will be used to help sappers in demining.
“Kyivstar is grateful to all its partners and those who care, thanks to whom UAH 154 million have been accumulated for the demining project “We Live Here” to provide 128 demining teams. Together with the SOVA jewelry house, we are launching a special piece of jewelry – a silver house, with all proceeds going to the project. By buying a piece of jewelry, you bring someone’s return home closer, because many people dream of returning to a safe home where there are no more mines,” says Hanna Zakharash, Kyivstar’s Corporate Communications Director.
SOVA Jewelry House joined the “We Live Here” project by Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation back in June and donated funds to equip two demining teams to clear the de-occupied territories. The mobile operator’s contribution to the project has now reached more than UAH 55 million.
“We joined the “We Live Here” project by Come Back Alive and Kyivstar because we share a common crucial goal – demining the country. It is symbolic that we are presenting the project with the houses on the eve of the Christmas holidays, when everyone makes wishes. We hope that this decoration will become special for Ukrainians and will always remind them of home, wherever they are,” said Anna Koval, SOVA’s Marketing and Sales Director.
All the houses of the limited edition jewelry are different, but they are united by the light from the windows, which is associated with coziness, home, and warmth. To create this effect, the jewelers made the windows of fancy enamel that glows in the dark. Each piece of jewelry combines the area code of your region with a unique number.
The “House” pendant is available in stores or on the SOVA jewelry house website at a price of 1690 UAH. The shades of the jewelry’s laces may vary.
“We live here” is a joint initiative of the telecom operator and the Come Back Alive Foundation for competent assistance to the army with the partnership support of 1+1 media group. 100% of the funds raised will be used to purchase gear, equipment and vehicles for 146 engineer and sapper groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The modern equipment will help protect the lives of the defenders engaged in demining and speed up the liberation of Ukraine’s territory and its waters from the dangerous legacy of war and occupation.
The project started in May 2023 and will continue until the target amount of UAH 175 million is reached. Anyone who cares can make a contribution and send a donation on the project website.
About Kyivstar
Kyivstar is Ukraine’s largest electronic communications operator, serving more than 24 million mobile subscribers and more than 1 million Home Internet subscribers as of September 2023. The company provides services using a wide range of mobile and fixed technologies, including 4G, Big Data, Cloud solutions, cybersecurity services, digital TV, etc. Kyivstar helps subscribers, society and the country to overcome the challenges of wartime. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the company has allocated more than UAH 1.4 billion in aid to meet the humanitarian needs of the Armed Forces, society and subscribers. Kyivstar’s sole shareholder is the international VEON Group. The Group’s shares are listed on NASDAQ (New York) and Euronext (Amsterdam). Kyivstar has been operating in Ukraine for 25 years and is recognized as the largest taxpayer in the telecom market, the best employer and a socially responsible company.
