The HALO Trust has warned that Ukraine has become one of the most severely mined countries on earth, as Kyiv commemorates three years of war on 24 February.
The anniversary sees an area larger than Greece at risk of landmines and unexploded ordnance. In total 138,503 km square of Ukraine has been affected by fighting and minelaying.
Clearing the deadly debris of war should be a key goal of the international community the head of the world's largest landmine clearance charity, The HALO Trust, said today.
HALO CEO and former British General James Cowan:
“From its vast grainfields to its rural hamlets, from theatres to its railway stations, Ukraine now holds the unenviable title of being one of the most severely landmine contaminated places in the world."
"Only the reckless would make predictions about the future of the conflict. But whatever the talks amount to or finally deliver, there is one unavoidable truth: the landmines in Ukraine will one day need to be removed."
HALO is the largest humanitarian demining organisation working in Ukraine, where over a million acres of farmland are estimated to be littered with explosives – limiting its global food exports. Since Russia's full-scale invasion, HALO has cleared over 36,000 explosive devices and made 7.1 million square metres of land safe – the equivalent of nearly a thousand full-sized football pitches.
The HALO Trust started clearing landmines in Ukraine in 2014, but underwent a significant expansion after Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Since then, HALO has expanded its workforce in Ukraine from 400 deminers working in the east to over 1,500 staff operating across the entire country. This saves lives and is helping the Ukrainian economy to recover.
HALO has also invested in pioneering new technology and mechanical assets to clear landmines at scale with greater efficiency. Download our latest report on technology for landmine clearance.
