Since the beginning of the year, sappers have inspected more than 171,700 hectares of agricultural land scheduled for priority inspection and demining. Of these, more than 156.6 thousand hectares have already been returned to farmers for farming. This was reported by the Ministry of Economy, UNN writes.
Our sappers have set a very good pace. For example, in Kherson region, we have already inspected and returned to farmers almost 60% of the farmland we planned to inspect this year. In general, since the beginning of the year, more than 156.6 thousand hectares of land have been returned to economic use across Ukraine. As a result, farmers can once again go out into the fields, sow and harvest crops. These are jobs, taxes that the state needs now, bread baked from Kharkiv wheat or watermelons from Kherson fields
According to information from the regional military administrations, the scheduled survey of agricultural land was conducted in eight regions of the country. Since the beginning of the year, the largest areas of land have been surveyed in the following regions:
- Kherson region: 146.3 thousand hectares, of which 17.76 thousand hectares were surveyed in June;
- Kharkiv region: 11.3 thou hectares, including 4.55 thou hectares in June;
- Mykolaiv region: 8.3 thou hectares, including 1.67 thou hectares in June.
The First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, who is also the Minister of Economy, noted that during the first half of the year, the country was able to significantly strengthen its humanitarian demining capabilities.
Last year we started without a single demining vehicle. At the beginning of 2024, we had 30 vehicles. In June, we already had 82 demining vehicles. We will continue to increase their number. After all, we already have examples of localization of foreign models, and we have domestic developments that will be put into mass production after certification. As for other demining machinery and equipment, operators are already purchasing Ukrainian-made equipment
According to the Vice Prime Minister, since the beginning of the year, the number of certified mine action operators has increased by more than one and a half times, reaching 43 certified operators. Additionally, 52 operators are currently undergoing the certification process.
Recall
In Mykolaiv region, 288 thousand hectares of land remain mined. More than 125 thousand have been cleared of mines, but the pace of work will slow downbecause the next areas to be cleared are more difficult.