Lithuania, which leads the international coalition on demining capabilities in Ukraine, held talks with Taiwan. The main focus was on demining — Taiwan will allocate $2 million for the international demining fund in Ukraine.
This was reported by the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense.
In this way, Taiwan will help Ukraine develop its own humanitarian demining system and combat the consequences of war.
Lithuania and Taiwan have agreed to cooperate in this direction, as unexploded ordnance remains a major threat to people and hinders normal life and reconstruction in affected regions.
Former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was at the signing of the documents and noted that the partnership with Lithuania has become even stronger. Demining is a continuation of cooperation between the countries.
Previously, Taiwan, together with Lithuania, helped rebuild Ukrainian schools and kindergartens damaged by the war, allowing children to once again access education.
This year, Lithuania will contribute €30 million to the joint mine clearance fund, and will also transfer equipment worth the same amount to Ukraine.
Demining Ukraine
According to the United Nations Development Program estimates, in 2023, demining work in Ukraine will cost $35.7 million. According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, almost 174 thousand km² of Ukraine is littered with explosives, and the countryʼs mined fertile lands could feed 80 million people. In the period 2022-2027, the amount of commitments from Ukraineʼs partner countries exceeds $850 million — this is money allocated for projects in the field of humanitarian demining.
Earlier, the chief officer of the State Emergency Service Oleksandr Khorunzhy stated that it would take up to 10 years to demine the entire territory of Ukraine — these are the approximate calculations of sappers.
As of January this year, since the start of the full-scale invasion, sappers have surveyed, demined, or cleared 35 000 km² of Ukrainian land. This is more than the Odessa region, which is the largest in Ukraine.
As of March 2025, 139 000 km² (23%) of Ukraineʼs territory remained potentially mined. In September 2023, this figure reached 30%.
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