US donates $5.8m worth of humanitarian demining equipment to Ukraine, - embassy
On 16 July 2024, the US Department of State handed over new demining equipment worth $5.8 million to the State Special Transport Service of Ukraine to support humanitarian demining operations in the territories liberated from Russian troops.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press centre of the US Embassy in Ukraine.
As noted, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has contaminated large areas of the country with landmines and unexploded ordnance, posing serious threats to civilian security and hindering Ukraine's economic recovery. In response, the Government of Ukraine has recruited thousands of new deminers from the State Service of Ukraine for Civil Defense and other agencies.
What was transferred to the Ukrainian side?
The transferred equipment includes four GCS-100 demining platforms with remote control and attachments for handling various explosive objects and environments; spare parts; mobile service stations; as well as trucks, trailers and cranes for transporting the machines to the field. Four armoured excavators, vehicles and personal protective equipment were also transferred.
"The transfer follows the successful completion of a mechanical demining training course by Tetra Tech in western Ukraine as part of a joint US-Canadian initiative. Since October 2022, 1,076 Ukrainian state deminers have been trained in various basic, intermediate and advanced technical demining skills as part of this joint initiative. The United States has allocated USD 118 million for this initiative, and Canada has allocated CAD 12.5 million," the statement said.
It is also noted that since February 2022, the United States has allocated more than $182 million to humanitarian demining efforts in Ukraine, providing training, equipment to the Government of Ukraine and supporting the deployment of contractor and NGO demining teams in nine oblasts. This support has helped displaced communities return home, farmers return to their fields, and Ukraine's brave deminers gain the skills and equipment they need to make their country safe and contribute to its economic recovery.