United States Launches $47.6 Million Demining Training Project in Ukraine

Office of the Spokesperson

On September 30, the Department awarded $47.6 million to Tetra Tech, Inc. of Pasadena, California to provide urgent humanitarian demining assistance to Ukraine in the face of Russia’s brutal war of aggression.  Under the terms of the project, Tetra Tech will strengthen the Government of Ukraine’s capacity to locate and remove landmines, unexploded and abandoned ordnance, improvised explosive devices, and other explosive hazards from civilian areas.

Tetra Tech will train the Government of Ukraine demining and EOD teams to international standards and provide them with the tools necessary to do their jobs.  The project also supports deploying additional clearance teams and explosive ordnance risk education teams through the local non-governmental organization Ukrainian Deminers Association.

This project forms part of the $91.5 million in demining assistance that the Department will provide over the coming year to help the Government of Ukraine address the urgent humanitarian challenges posed by explosive remnants of war created by Russia’s horrific actions.

Russia’s unlawful war and full-scale invasion of Ukraine has littered massive swaths of the country with landmines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive devices.  These explosive hazards block access to farmland, impede reconstruction efforts, prevent displaced people from returning to their homes, and continue to kill and maim innocent Ukrainian civilians.  The Government of Ukraine estimates that 160,000 square kilometers of its land may be contaminated – this is roughly the size of Virginia, Maryland, and Connecticut combined.

Since 1993, the United States has invested more than $4.7 billion for the safe clearance of landmines and explosive weapons of war as well as the securing and safe disposal of excess small arms and light weapons and munitions in more than 100 countries and territories.  The United States is the world’s single largest financial supporter of conventional weapons destruction.