Ukraine is facing one of the largest explosive contamination challenges worldwide, following the full-scale invasion launched in 2022. Landmines, unexploded ordnance and other explosive remnants of war affect large areas of farmland, urban environments, and transport corridors in Ukraine, delaying land release, limiting agricultural production and constraining recovery and reconstruction efforts.
Humanitarian mine action is a prerequisite for Ukraine’s recovery. It underpins the release of contaminated land and the restoration of essential civilian and economic activity. Global Clearance Solutions supports humanitarian mine action in Ukraine through accredited mechanical clearance capability, operational support, training and long‑term in‑country presence.
GCS has been active in Ukraine since 2022 and maintains a permanent national presence through its Ukrainian subsidiary, operational teams and service infrastructure. GCS Ukraine is an accredited Mine Action Operator authorised to conduct Humanitarian Mine Clearance, Survey and Explosive Ordnance Risk Education activities.
Operations focus on large‑area clearance tasks where productivity, safety and sustainability are critical. GCS supports national authorities and partners through the deployment of mechanical demining systems, operator training, technical mentoring and local maintenance capability, enabling sustained clearance output under demanding conditions.
Large‑scale clearance of agricultural land
A significant share of explosive contamination in Ukraine affects agricultural land, limiting safe cultivation and economic recovery. GCS support has focused on enabling mechanical clearance of farmland to accelerate access and reduce risk in areas where manual clearance alone would be slow or resource‑intensive.
Mechanical ground processing supports the exposure or destruction of explosive hazards and prepares land for follow‑on clearance and verification. This approach enables progressive land release, allowing cleared areas to be returned to productive civilian use in support of livelihoods and food production.
Support to nationally coordinated humanitarian demining operations
Humanitarian mine action in Ukraine is conducted under nationally coordinated frameworks led by Ukrainian authorities. GCS supports these efforts by enabling the use of mechanical clearance capability within the established demining workflows operated by national units.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU) is one of the principal national actors and its units operate 15 GCS‑200 mechanical clearance vehicles, which are deployed as part of humanitarian mine clearance operations across contaminated territory. To date, these systems have been used to clear over 1,400 hectares of contaminated land, recorded nearly 3,700 detonations of explosive ordnance, and accumulated more than 13,700 engine‑hours in operational use.
Integration of mechanical assets into national clearance workflows
Rather than replacing established humanitarian mine action methodologies, GCS support in Ukraine focuses on integrating mechanical systems into existing national clearance processes. Mechanical clearance is used to complement manual and intrusive survey activities, particularly in open terrain, former battle areas and agricultural environments affected by indirect fire and ground disturbance. This integration supports increased productivity while maintaining compliance with humanitarian mine action requirements and national accreditation frameworks.
Explosive Ordnance Risk Education and stakeholder engagement
In parallel with clearance activities, GCS contributes to Explosive Ordnance Risk Education targeting municipal authorities, first responders and local stakeholders. These activities support safer behaviour, informed decision‑making and improved coordination in contaminated areas during early recovery and reconstruction phases.
Risk education is delivered alongside clearance operations to reduce civilian exposure and to support local authorities responsible for land management and public safety.
Local capacity building and sustainment support
A core element of GCS’ engagement in Ukraine is the strengthening of national operational capacity. GCS provides training for operators, technicians and supervisors, combined with mentoring and technical guidance during operational deployment.
Local service and maintenance support enables sustained use of deployed mechanical assets, reducing downtime and supporting continuity of humanitarian demining operations. This approach contributes to the development of a nationally led, sustainable clearance capability aligned with Ukraine’s long‑term recovery objectives.
Permanent in‑country presence through Global Clearance Solutions Ukraine LLC, supporting humanitarian mine action programmes with operational coordination, training, service and maintenance capability.
