State programme amendments discussed at Regional Forum in Mykolaiv

Serhii Simonov, Commercial Director of UDS, participated in the regional forum "Safety Nearby: A Regional Forum on Integrating Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) into Community Life."

The event was organized by the Myrne NEBO Kharkiv Charitable Foundation with financial support from international partners.

During the forum, Serhii Simonov outlined the key challenges facing Ukraine's mine action sector and presented UDS's proposals for amending Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 284 of 12 March 2024 to improve the effectiveness of the State Humanitarian Demining Programme.

Proposed amendments

🔹 Minimum amendments: Expand the scope of the Programme. Funding should cover not only agricultural land but also other contaminated state- and municipally owned areas, including forests, shelterbelts, water fund lands, irrigation and drainage systems, and field roads.

🔹 Systemic amendments: Introduce funding for Non-Technical Survey (NTS) in accordance with DSTU 8820 and the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS). Procurement should cover an entire contaminated area rather than individual cadastral land plots. In addition, territorial communities, Regional Military Administrations (RMAs), and state- and municipally owned enterprises should be eligible to participate in the Programme.

🔹 Conceptual amendments: Replace price-based competition with a reimbursement model under which certified mine action operators are compensated for verified actual costs based on an economically justified methodology. This approach would help establish a sustainable mine action market, support domestic manufacturers, and ensure the efficient use of public funds.

"Today, mine action operators compete almost exclusively on price, whereas competition should also be based on quality and timely delivery," said Serhii Simonov, Commercial Director of UDS.

As part of the forum, Serhii also held productive meetings with the leadership of the Myrne NEBO Kharkiv Charitable Foundation, including Oleksii Bezhan, Chairman of the Foundation, and Oleksandr Varyvoda and Serhii Nazarenko, Heads of the Project Implementation and Humanitarian Demining Departments.

The discussions resulted in the identification of key areas for future cooperation, including the Foundation's potential acquisition of a GERMINA URCM-3000 remotely operated mechanical demining machine. To formalize these agreements, the parties are preparing to sign a Memorandum of Cooperation in the near future.

We thank the organizers and all participants for the open dialogue and their joint commitment to developing effective solutions for humanitarian mine action.