The Accounting Chamber conducted an assessment of the state of humanitarian demining of agricultural lands of Ukraine. The audit confirmed that the current system is fragmented, inefficient and does not correspond to the scale of mine danger. At the current rate, it will take 83 years to completely clean the country.
About 25% of the territory of Ukraine, i.e. more than 13.9 million hectares, were affected by hostilities. Among them, 9.85 million hectares of agricultural land in ten regions remain contaminated with explosive objects. This makes up almost a quarter of all agricultural land in the country.
However, the rate of restoration of the accessibility of these territories remains extremely low. From 2022 to July 2025, it was possible to demine only 7.75 thousand hectares according to national standards, which is 0.08% of the total area of contaminated land. Another 403,000 hectares were returned to farmers in a simplified manner.
At this rate, it would take approximately 83 years to completely clear all the territories. Mine contamination has serious economic and safety consequences. According to Tony Blair’s Institute for Global Change and the Ministry of Economy, Ukraine loses about $11 billion in GDP every year. Exports of agricultural products have decreased by 4.3 billion dollars annually, and the state budget does not receive more than 1.1 billion dollars in taxes.
The State Environmental Inspectorate estimated the damage from littering and pollution of land resources at more than 1.1 trillion hryvnias. In addition to economic losses, mine hazards pose a threat to the lives and safety of millions of Ukrainians. About 6.4 million citizens live in potentially polluted areas.
On January 1, 2025, 73 mine action operators were registered in Ukraine, but only 24 actually worked, accounting for only 9% of the total volume of work. Only four operators had the full package of permits. The total number of sappers was 1.7 thousand people, which is insufficient for systematic demining.
