Due to security risks, the planning of new humanitarian demining operations has been restricted in certain areas of six regions. This does not mean that demining has been halted. The Ministry of Defence stated this on October 26, UNN reports.
Details
"The decision of the National Mine Action Authority concerns certain areas in the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Sumy regions within 20–50 km of the line of contact and the border with the aggressor state, where operations have not yet begun," the Ministry of Defence said.
According to the report, "where demining is already underway, the operations must be completed if the situation allows and they do not interfere with the tasks of the Defence Forces."
"Within the 50-kilometre zone, priority will be given to emergency response measures necessary for the evacuation of the population; emergency rescue operations; providing access to shelters; medical and humanitarian assistance; and responding to threats from explosive ordnance," the defence ministry said.
According to the ministry, the possibility of conducting unscheduled humanitarian demining also remains available upon justified requests.
"The decision will be reviewed depending on the security situation," the Ministry of Defence emphasised.
"Humanitarian demining remains a priority even in frontline areas. But we must act on the basis of a risk-oriented approach in order to find a balance between the safety of the people carrying out demining and the needs of communities in frontline areas," commented Vasyl Shkurakov, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine .
The restrictions introduced do not provide for the cessation of humanitarian demining in frontline areas