Washington to the rescue: new American tools will help Kyiv in its secret battle against mines

One of the biggest problems facing Ukraine is the shear volume of mines and other unexploded ordinance that pollute the nation's soil following more than two years of war with Russia. The problem is much worse than you know.

According to a recent report from Euractiv, Ukraine has cleared 3 million hectares of land but the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Mine Action Directorate reported that more than one-third, or about 14 million hectares, of the country's territory is still contaminated with mines and unexploded ordinance.

“Ukraine has become one of the most polluted countries in the world, and there aren’t enough operators to clean everything,” Ruslan Beregulya, the Head of the Mine Action Directorate explained to Euractiv.

The situation in Ukraine is taking a major toll on the country's agricultural sector, which accounts for between 10% to 15% of Ukraine's Gross Domestic Product. But it is important to note that Kyiv's allies are doing a lot to help demine the country.

Washington has provided Kyiv with a lot of different weapons and supplies to help Ukraine defend itself from the ongoing Russian invasion but there are other types of equipment the Ukrainians need that are just as important as missiles and guns.

Demining equipment is one of the most important tools that Ukraine's partners can provide the embattled nation and the United States just sent Kyiv a lot of new help as part of its ongoing military assistance to its Western European ally.

Photo Credit: Facebook @mineconomdev

On July 16th, the Ukrainian Economy Ministry revealed in a post on social media it received 4 GCS-100 demining vehicles from the United States, along with lots of other equipment needed to operate the vehicles.

Photo Credit: Facebook @uadsst

"In total, the transferred equipment included 4 GCS 100 vehicles, 4 GCS 100 trailers, 4 mobile technical stations for GCS 100, and 5 JCB excavators with armored cabins" were handed over to Ukraine according to the Ukrainian military news website Militarnyi.

Photo Credit: Facebook @mineconomdev

Among the equipment supplied was also "4 MAN trucks, 4 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter cargo and passenger vans, and spare parts were donated," all of which was given to the State Special Transport Service of Ukraine, Militarnyi added.

Photo Credit: Facebook @uadsst

The total price tag of the assistance was $5.8 million dollars. However, this wasn't the first time in recent weeks that the United States has provided special demining equipment to Ukraine. In June, Kyiv was also given another important and useful demining vehicle: a GCS-200 mine-clearing vehicle.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported in a news release on June 25th, 2024 that the country had received a GCS-200 mine-clearing vehicle from the U.S. But that wasn't everything the United States provided. 

Ukraine also received x-ray machines, two types of blasting vehicles, and metal detectors, all of which had a total value of roughly $2 million dollars according to a report on the news from Militarnyi. 

The mine-clearing equipment and vehicles will play an important role in helping Ukraine demine its territory, something that has become a growing problem since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of the country in February 2022. 

In January 2023, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told the South Korean news agency Yonhap that Ukraine was “the most mined country in the world” and stated that 40% of its territory was affected by mines and other ordinance from the conflict. 

“The Government of Ukraine estimates that 160,000 square kilometers of its land may be contaminated – this is roughly the size of the states of Virginia, Maryland, and Connecticut combined,” the U.S. State Department noted about Ukraine’s problem. 

The Kyiv Post reported that mines make it difficult and dangerous for Ukraine's farmers to plant and harvest their crops, an issue of major importance to the Ukrainians because agriculture is one of the country’s vital industries as Euroctiv pointed out in its reporting. 

The large amount of mined territory in Ukraine is the main reason why donations of vital demining equipment like the recently transferred GCS-100s and GCS-200 from the United States are a big help for a nation that lacks adequate demining equipment. 

Global Clearance Solutions, a Swiss-German company, developed the GCS-200 and designed the demining vehicle on a crawler tractor that can easily interchange a variety of demining attachments according to the Ukrainian military news website, Militarnyi. 

Screenshot: YouTube @mvs_ua

“The GCS-200 consists of a crawler tractor and attachments. The standardized mounting interface makes it easy to connect and disconnect the working tools in just a few minutes,” Militarnyi wrote. 

During the demining process, the front portion of the GCS-200 will detonate or destroy mines and divert the explosion away from the vulnerable parts of the vehicle to ensure the safest removal of the threat. 

The attachments for the GCS-200 are really what make the demining vehicle a rather interesting device compared to other demining equipment that has been donated to the Ukrainians. The GCS-200 comes with a wide variety of attachments. 

Army Guide reported that the GCS-200 can be fitted with a manipulator arm as well as a dozer blade or forklift for the disposal of improvised explosive devices or the removal of unexploded ordnance. 

The GCS-200 can also easily clear anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, it is also able to clear upwards of 12,000 square meters or just over 39,000 square feet per day with a continuous ground penetration depth of 25 centimeters or about 9.8 inches. 

Screenshot: YouTube @mvs_ua

“Given the density of mines on the territory of Ukraine, we would like to assure you that we will continue to provide you with all the support you need,” explained Bridget Brink, the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, about the donation.

Screenshot: YouTube @mvs_ua

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the country currently operates as many as 50 mine-clearing machines, which makes the new donation a valuable piece of equipment that will help Ukraine in its goal to demine the country. Japan also helping with Ukraine's demining effort in a big way as well. 

On July 9th, the Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko and the Japanese Ambassador Matsuda Kuninori took part in a ceremony celebrating the delivery of new mine-clearing vehicles to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

According to the Japanese news website Nippon, Tokoyo delivered its very first shipment of a larger ¥91 billion yen or roughly $578 million dollar grant aimed at helping Ukraine rebuild areas destroyed by the ongoing Russian invasion.

Photo Credit: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

The Japanese government plans to provide 20 mine-clearing vehicles to Ukraine in 2024. They were sourced from Nikken Corp. and are the first time excavators will be used in the clearance of mines in Ukraine.

Photo Credit: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

The excavators allow versatile functionality according to Nippon, this includes "debris removal and tree felling, by changing its arm tip. Mine-clearing vehicles made by the company have already been used in Cambodia and Afghanistan."

"The support provided by the Government and people of Japan is extremely important to us," Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Ihor Bezkaravainyi said according to a press release from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

"There is a lot of work for this type of vehicle in Ukraine and these machines are more than ever needed here," Bezkaravainyi added. This wasn't the first major mine-clearing vehicle Ukraine received recently.