Ukraine says allies commit $244 mln for humanitarian demining

Ukraine’s allies have committed to allocate $244 million in addition to special equipment for the country’s humanitarian demining needs, First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Tuesday.
Russia left large areas of land filled with mines after it halted its initial full-scale invasion in Ukraine in the first half of last year and moved its forces to the east.
The U.S. State Department estimated in early December that some 160,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian land needed to be checked for explosives hazards. That is nearly half the size of Germany.
Humanitarian demining, according to the United Nations, refers to clearing “land so that civilians can return to their homes and their everyday routines without the threat of explosive hazards.”