Interior Ministry says due to intl aid there will be enough forces, means to clear mine territories soon
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Mary Hakobyan expects that within the next few months in Ukraine, thanks to international partners, there will be enough pyrotechnicians and equipment for the full demining of territories.
"We hope that within a few months we will fully reach the amount of necessary equipment and the necessary specialists who will be able to simultaneously work out all the regions [to identify and neutralize explosive objects]," Hakobyan told Interfax-Ukraine in Kyiv on Friday.
According to her, Ukrainian pyrotechnicians are currently working at the limit of their capabilities and cannot cover all the territories that need mine clearance.
"Now we cannot simultaneously process all the requests that come from local authorities, from communities, from business, from agriculture. We just have people at the limit of their capabilities, around the clock, without shifts. This is a stressful job, so we are now working to attract foreign experts," she said.
According to Hakobyan, both the president and the prime minister conduct the negotiations personally.
"That is, everyone explains this need at their own level... We see that we are reaching an understanding with international organizations," the deputy head of the Interior Ministry said.
She drew attention to the fact that this mission, like any other, requires both the coordination of documents and the allocation of the necessary funding, therefore it takes time. In addition, according to her, proper certification is also necessary in order to avoid risks.
Hakobyan said that at present, experts from Britain and Switzerland are involved in the demining of the territory, and experts from another EU country will join in the near future. She said that each international team of experts, pyrotechnicians will be reported.
She summed up: "It is a lot of work, but I am optimistic and I hope that we will win the war in the near future, and from then on we will calculate our forces and be clear about what territory we are talking about. And I hope that we will be able to overcome this challenge faster than in five years."
