On August 9, the Department announced its intention to provide $89 million in funding for fiscal year 2022 to help the Ukrainian government address the urgent humanitarian challenges posed by explosive remnants of war created by the brutal war of aggression of Russia.
Russia’s continued illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has littered huge swaths of the country with landmines, unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices. The grotesque use of improvised explosive devices in the way we see in Ukraine by Russian actors was previously only associated with ISIS in Syria. These explosive hazards are blocking access to fertile agricultural land, delaying reconstruction efforts, preventing displaced communities from returning to their homes, and continuing to kill and maim innocent Ukrainian civilians. The Ukrainian government estimates that 160,000 square kilometers of its land could be contaminated, roughly the size of Virginia, Maryland and Connecticut combined.
The U.S. funding will deploy approximately 100 demining teams and support a large-scale training and equipping project to build the Ukrainian government’s mine clearance and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) capability.
Since 1993, the United States has invested more than $4.2 billion in the safe clearance of landmines and explosive weapons of warfare (ERW) and the securing and safe disposal of small arms and small arms (SA/LW) and excess ammunition in over 100 countries and territories. The United States is the world’s largest financial supporter of conventional arms destruction.
For more information, please visit the Prime Minister’s website or contact the Office of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, at pm-cpa@state.gov, and follow us on Twitter . @StateDeptPM.
