On December 5, the third annual Demine Ukraine Forum 2025 was held in the capital, one of the key platforms for discussing the topic of humanitarian demining. This year, the event brought together more than 500 participants, including government representatives, international partners, equipment manufacturers, innovative companies and public organizations. The main attention was focused on Ukraine's achievements in the field of demining and plans for further clearing of territories.

As reported by the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, the forum was opened by the relevant Minister Oleksiy Sobolev. He said that within the framework of the state program for compensation for the cost of demining, almost 10 thousand hectares of land that were previously unsuitable for work due to mine danger have already been returned to agricultural producers. According to him, this is one of the key indicators of the effectiveness of state instruments to support farmers.

The Minister also emphasized that the government is working to expand the program to include private households and lands included in the so-called “Land Bank”. This will significantly accelerate the clearance of territories, in particular in the regions most affected by the fighting.

Despite the difficult situation and risks, the agricultural sector is demonstrating impressive resilience. Oleksiy Sobolev noted that at the end of the year, production indicators will be comparable to the results of 2024. Part of the harvest was harvested from areas that have recently undergone demining. In Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv regions, this year’s harvest even exceeded last year’s figures.

Ukraine is provided with significant support by international partners: the total contribution of states and donor organizations to humanitarian demining has already reached $1.5 billion. The largest donors are the USA, the Howard Buffett Foundation, Switzerland, Norway, Germany, the EU, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan and France. Some of the projects have already been implemented, and a number of initiatives are planned for implementation by 2030.

UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine Auke Lutsma emphasized that demining should be viewed not as an expense, but as an investment in the country's recovery. According to him, clearing territories allows communities to return to normal life, restore entrepreneurship and agriculture, and also stimulates economic stabilization in frontline regions.

A separate part of the forum was the presentation of the new digital system GRIT, which was presented by Deputy Minister Ihor Bezkaravayny. Developed on the basis of Palantir technologies, the system creates digital models of territories, analyzes significant data sets and determines priority areas for demining. GRIT helps identify small "bottlenecks" that block access to large areas that could potentially be returned to farmers.

Bezkaravayny emphasized that the system does not change the basic International Mine Action Standards (IMAS), but makes processes more accurate, faster and more manageable. Thus, technology becomes an important tool in building an effective model of humanitarian demining in Ukraine.