GICHD Outlook Report 2025

UKRAINE

Ukraine is among the countries in the world most heavily contaminated by explosive ordnance. Since February 2022 contamination has increased significantly across large parts of the country, notably in the east. The situation is further exacerbated as the fighting continues, undermining the lives and livelihoods of people in Ukraine, under already very difficult circumstances. The GICHD’s Ukraine country programme is necessarily ambitious, since the Centre assessed that the ever-increasing scale and scope of the explosive ordnance contamination requires a significant push to further expand, strengthen, and professionalize existing national capacities. The Ukraine country programme team includes Ukrainian experts. Some members of the team are based in Kyiv and supported by Geneva- based international advisors. Their efforts focus on training and mentoring of national authorities, as well as other relevant stakeholders. In 2025, the GICHD will continue to focus its support on areas prioritized by the Ukrainian government. IMSMA will be further strengthened to meet the evolving needs of the programme. The aim is for it to enable clear data flows and dashboard environments that make the current state of information and knowledge available, thus supporting both operational and strategic decision- making. The GICHD will also continue to support the Ukrainian mine action efforts with the development of national mine action standards, tailoring them to the Ukrainian context and ensuring they are fit for purpose in a rapidly changing environment.

In addition to day to day mentoring, the GICHD plans to implement events, training courses, workshops and seminars in country, at least once a month. The GICHD will facilitate and further strengthen working relationships between national authorities and the international community through liaison visits and donor coordination events. These events will enable donors, national and international organizations and operators to take coordinated steps towards supporting Ukraine and to address challenges stemming from explosive ordnance contamination in a cooperative, needs-driven and evidence-based manner. Furthermore, support will be provided to the government of Ukraine in strategic planning and implementation to create a clear, consolidated and long-term vision of mine action policy.

the GICHD will assess the organizational and technical capacity of national demining operators in Ukraine, to raise awareness around international donor funding mechanisms. Lastly, the GICHD will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to promote gender equality and inclusion in mine action responses.

Land release remains a top priority as defined by the government of Ukraine, and the GICHD will work on frameworks, tools, and systems to ensure efficient mine action operations. Non-technical survey and quality management remain vital components of Ukraine’s mine action programme, and

the GICHD will continue to deliver its ToT programmes to ensure locally tailored training. In order to strengthen localization,

GICHD OUTLOOK REPORT 2025