Ukrainian demining personnel trained with OSCE and EU support

Seventeen representatives from Ukraine’s demining agencies underwent a two-and-a-half month training to obtain an international qualification in explosive ordnance disposal. Organized by the OSCE Support Programme for Ukraine with support from the European Union, the training programme concluded on 18 May and included a combination of theoretical and practical exercises in line with the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).

Experienced demining practitioners from the Ministry of Defense, the State Emergency Service, and the National Police participated in the training, enhancing their skills in safely disposing of explosive remnants of war such as mines, shells and unexploded or abandoned ordnance.

“These experts already have significant and diverse professional experience obtained on the ground here in Ukraine. This blend of local expertise and international standards will contribute to improving the work of Ukrainian agencies in clearing lands from explosive remnants of war. It will help make the process more efficient and safer – both for deminers and people in the affected areas,” said Ambassador Petr Mares, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairmanship – Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.

The training provided in-depth knowledge of safe demining protocols, and hands-on exercises with a variety of explosive objects such as booby-traps. Trainees also learned how to properly organize and monitor the disposal process to ensure safety, prevent damage to third-party property and minimize environmental impact. As most of participants are team leaders or trainers themselves, they will also share the knowledge with colleagues.

“We recognize that the most important asset in mine action is the people who will carry out the work of demining in the field. This training is essential for state mine action operators to carry out their vital role in Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery,” said Arturo Rodriguez Tonelli, Regional Programme Manager EU Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI).    

“This course is an important step forward for me and my colleagues. We not only got in-depth knowledge, but also expanded our horizons on how to plan and conduct operations at a higher and more complex level. Special attention to issues of safety gave us a new professional set of tools to act effectively and responsibly,” said Oleksandr Kyseliov, an instructor from Vinnytsia Professional Training School of Lviv University of Life Safety who participated in the course.

Since the start of full-scale war in 2022, demining operators had to discover and destroy over 920,000 explosive objects in a country with 139,000 square kilometers with suspected contamination according to the National Mine Action Authority of Ukraine.  

The training is part of the project “Support to Environmental Rehabilitation with Focus on Building National Humanitarian Mine Action Capacities of Ukraine”, implemented with primary financial support of the European Union and contributions from the OSCE participating States and partners. See full list of the Programme's donors.