{"id":8593,"date":"2026-03-24T15:02:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T14:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fsd.ch\/?p=8593"},"modified":"2026-04-14T15:00:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T13:00:49","slug":"fsd-ukraine-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fsd.ch\/en\/fsd-ukraine-update\/","title":{"rendered":"FSD’s Mine Action Programme in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Complete Ukraine brochure (March 2026) \u2013 PDF<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our ongoing operations \u2013 March 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As of March 2026, more than 450 FSD staff members are actively engaged in the provinces of Chernihiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Poltava.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twelve teams are currently conducting surveys of suspected hazardous areas, while thirty-three demining teams are focused on locating explosive devices in minefields and former battle zones. Specialised machinery is being used to prepare rural areas for clearance, and armoured construction vehicles assist in clearing rubble from structures damaged or destroyed by ordnance. The first mine detection dog team was deployed in mid-September 2025. In parallel, nine teams are delivering risk education in schools and villages, complemented by online sessions and digital campaigns across social media platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \n \n<\/svg>\n \n Our impact since June 2022 <\/span>\n\n
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\n \n 4,000,000 <\/div>\n
\n square metres of land cleared and secured <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n 130,000,000 <\/div>\n
\n square metres of land surveyed <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n 500,000 <\/div>\n
\n people educated on the risks of explosive ordnance <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

From 2023 onwards, FSD has been providing logistical support and expertise to the explosive ordnance disposal teams of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and is currently strengthening their capacities in mechanical demining through training and the rehabilitation of a workshop for the repair, maintenance and modernisation of demining machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FSD also supports the local NGO Ukrainian Center for Humanitarian Protection (UCHP) in developing its operational and institutional capacities in mine action, with the aim of enabling it to independently conduct humanitarian demining operations in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Map of FSD\u2019s operations in Ukraine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Background of our operations in Ukraine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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FSD began working in Ukraine in early 2015, focusing on the Donbas region along the line of contact between areas controlled by the Ukrainian government and those under separatist control. Our risk education teams initially launched emergency campaigns in schools and villages, teaching residents how to stay safe near landmines and unexploded ordnance. At the same time, survey teams assessed and mapped areas contaminated by explosive remnants of war.<\/p>\n

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In 2016, FSD started clearance operations, recruiting, training, and deploying around 50 local staff from an operational base in Sloviansk and Marioupol. Over the following years, our deminers surveyed dozens of former battlefields and identified hundreds of unexploded ordnance items. Simultaneously, FSD supported Ukrainian institutions in establishing a national mine action authority.<\/p>\n

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At the end of February 2022, as the armed conflict escalated, FSD temporarily suspended and reoriented its activities to allow staff to ensure the safety of their families and provide emergency humanitarian aid to communities affected by the conflict. By June 2022, the improved security situation enabled FSD to establish a new operational base in Chernihiv, followed by another in Kharkiv province in November, allowing the resumption of demining activities.<\/p>\n

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In 2023, FSD strengthened its operational capacities through the recruitment and training of staff, as well as the acquisition of equipment. Two satellite operations offices were opened in Donetsk province and in Kryvyi Rih to support the northeastern part of Kherson province.<\/p>\n

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Objectives for the next twelve months<\/h2>\n\n\n\n