Introducing the "Center" Humanitarian Demining Department

The department consists of three UDS humanitarian demining teams, totaling 33 specialists. The teams include experienced sappers and UAV operators. Each sapper has an individual first-aid kit and is equipped with a full set of high-quality personal protective equipment, including aprons and visors. This ensures maximum safety during demining operations. All teams are equipped with modern Toyota Hilux and Volkswagen Transporter vehicles, ensuring the mobility of each team. Sappers utilize high-quality equipment: 27 Trembita handheld metal detectors, 6 Trembita wide-area metal detectors, and 3 Mavic 3 UAVs.

The department's primary task is to conduct technical surveys, manual demining and clearing the area of hostilities.

The "Center" department is responsible for preparing found unexploded ordnance for destruction. If necessary, upon the decision of the department head and the operation manager, remote-controlled demining systems of the mechanized demining department can be used to prepare the ground and reduce risks. Additionally, the department works closely with the UDS non-technical survey department, as sappers rely on their data when developing an operation plan. For destruction or neutralization, the UDS special demining operations department is involved.

"The department's work covers Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Chernihiv regions. Currently, we are focused on operations in the Makariv community. Here, we have demined and returned hundreds of hectares of valuable agricultural land to farmers. The heads of our demining operations are appointed from among our sappers. They develop an operation plan, directly manage the operation, and conduct daily quality checks on the team's work. It is a responsible and challenging job, for which I have selected the best professional sappers. All of them have undergone specialized training and passed difficult exams. This year, our team is capable of demining 2,000 hectares," said Serhiy Tsykenyuk, head of the "Center" humanitarian demining department.

About the Head of the "Center" Humanitarian Demining Department

Serhiy Tsykenyuk graduated from the Kamianets-Podilskyi Military Engineering Institute. He worked in the State Emergency Service, where he spent several years engaged in operational demining of territories in the Odesa region. Serhiy was also involved in the liquidation of the consequences of a man-made disaster at an ammunition depot in Novobohdanivka, Zaporizhzhia region.

With the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Serhiy worked as a demining instructor at the "Come Back Alive" Foundation, training new sappers. For over a year, he headed a humanitarian demining team at a company that operates in the field of demining. There, he led demining operations in de-occupied territories. During this time, Serhiy gained experience in organizing and managing demining processes, as well as developing standard operating procedures (SOPs). Today, Serhiy successfully leads a team that works to clear Ukrainian lands of unexploded ordnance.