Ukraine
FSD’s programme in Ukraine started in 2015. Initially active in the Donbass region, our team has expanded to meet the considerable needs of the ongoing war. Since August 2022, our deminers have been locating and clearing mines and explosive remnants of war in the provinces of Chernihiv and Kharkiv. In parallel, we are stepping up our risk education campaigns to teach safe behaviour to people living in contaminated areas and thus prevent accidents.
These deminers are inspecting a field in Chernihiv Oblast (Ukraine, 2022)
News
Around one hundred FSD personnel are working in the provinces of Chernihiv and Kharkiv
December 2022 / The fighting in Ukraine has left behind hundreds of thousands of anti-personnel mines, anti-vehicle mines and unexploded or abandoned munitions. According to Ukrainian authorities, almost a third of the country is contaminated. These dangerous remnants of war not only threaten the lives of civilians, but also obstruct humanitarian efforts, hamper reconstruction and prevent farmers from accessing their fields.
As a response to this acute crisis, FSD set up a new operational base in Chernhiv and doubled its workforce. forty-two new deminers were recruited among the local civilian population and have been trained by our experts.
In November 2022, the security situation allowed FSD to deploy several teams to Izum, in Kharkiv Oblast, a city that had been occupied for six months and was heavily littered with explosive ordnance. Hundreds of explosive devices have already been located and neutralized by our teams.
To date, the FSD has a total of eight specialised battlefield clearance teams, three mechanical clearance teams, three non-technical survey teams and four risk education teams.
The role of the non-technical survey teams is to assess the extent of contaminated areas and to map them. These teams meet with the local population and use all available sources to locate the most contaminated areas and identify the most urgent areas to be cleared.
Explosive ordnance risk education campaigns are essential to help civilians live in relative safety with this ongoing threat. These are conducted face-to-face in local communities and online via social networks to reach as many people as possible.
In Izioum, the fighting has destroyed most of the civilian infrastructure. Here we find hundreds of explosive devices every day.
Olexandr Marchenko
Ukrainian FSD deminer
Stories
News from Ukraine
Help us prevent mine accidents
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine is littering cities and farmland with massive amounts of unexploded ordnance. Every contribution, regardless of the amount, helps us rid the country of these lethal remnants of war.
OUR TEAMS IN THE PROVINCE OF CHERNIHIV
Clearing mines after an explosion
Timeline
FSD in Ukraine
FSD’s involvement in Ukraine dates back to the beginning of 2015, in the Donbass region. The aim was to minimise civilian casualties by teaching people to “live with” mines and unexploded ordnance in relative safety until all contaminated areas are cleared.
In 2017, FSD began a demining programme to locate and destroy explosive devices. To date, almost 5 million square metres of land have been inspected and cleared.
In late 2019, a new project was launched to increase access to education in conflict areas. When FSD staff visited schools and kindergartens for their mine risk education missions, they saw the extent of destruction of schools and the devastating impact of the conflict on the daily lives of children.
Following a special appeal for donations, FSD was able to conduct a needs assessment in schools and kindergartens along the frontline and began the rehabilitation of damaged facilities.
In 2022, as the fighting intensified and spread throughout the country, FSD’s activities were reoriented to provide emergency humanitarian aid (food, shelter, medicines, fuel, etc.). As soon as the security situation allowed, demining and risk education were resumed, now in the provinces of Chernihiv and Kharkiv.
Centimetres after centimentres
In 2021, our deminers have cleared 8.5 km², an area equivalent to half of Geneva. This work requires constant concentration despite the sometimes extreme working conditions.
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