The EU allocates 2 million euros for demining Ukraine with the help of dogs
Kyiv • UNN
The EU funds a €2 million humanitarian demining initiative in Ukraine. 16 Belgian Malinois and 8 Ukrainian instructors were trained to search for mines in the liberated territories.
The European Union is allocating 2 million euros to finance a new initiative for humanitarian demining in Ukraine. This was stated by the press service of the EU Delegation in Kyiv, UNN reports.
Details
It is noted that within the framework of this initiative, 16 Belgian Malinois will be the first mine-sniffing dogs to be deployed in Ukraine. The initiative is funded by a €2 million grant from the European Commission's External Action Service.
Together with eight Ukrainian female instructors, they underwent intensive five-month training in Cambodia before returning to Ukraine.
The agency noted that many of the instructors had previously studied dog training at Sumy National Agrarian University. During the mine-sniffing dog instructor course, they were also trained in manual demining.
We believe that this innovative project can significantly accelerate the cleanup of contaminated land and its release for civilian use
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The EU also explains that the dogs will be used in addition to manual and mechanized MAG demining in the liberated territories of Ukraine, particularly in Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Kharkiv regions.
It is expected that dog teams will help increase the speed and accuracy with which MAG can detect contaminated areas, especially in areas with dense vegetation or complex terrain.
In particular, under certain conditions, technical demining teams using dogs are able to survey large areas of land much faster than sappers, detecting explosive objects and helping to confirm the safety of the site.
Recall
The Ministry of Economy said that Germany, Sweden, and Belgium have increased aid for humanitarian demining in Ukraine by more than $35 million, and the projects will be implemented by 2027.