MUNICH, Sunday 16 February 2025:
Major General James Cowan, CEO of the landmine charity The HALO Trust, has told the Munich Security Conference that any deal between Ukraine and the US that allows mining for minerals cannot happen without first demining huge areas of the country.
“The landmine problem in Ukraine is huge. The Ukrainian Government estimates that 138,000 square kilometres of its territory has been affected by hostilities and so likely to be contaminated with mines and explosive debris. The mines are laid on the most productive farmland in Europe and are significantly damaging Ukraine’s economy.”
“Any proposals to tap Ukraine’s mineral wealth will need to incorporate a plan for the clearance of the landmines if it is to be remotely viable.”
HALO is the largest humanitarian demining organisation working in Ukraine. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, HALO has cleared over 36,000 explosive devices and made 7.1 million square metres of land safe – the equivalent of nearly a thousand full-sized football pitches.
Since 2022, HALO has expanded its workforce in Ukraine from 400 deminers working in the east to over 1,500 staff operating across the entire country. This saves lives and is helping the Ukrainian economy to recover.
