Armed forces of Ukraine and Sweden to cooperate in establishing mine action center

A delegation of the Swedish Armed Forces visited the 8th Chernihiv Training Center of the State Special Transport Service and discussed bilateral cooperation in mine action.

"Within the framework of interstate cooperation, Swedish experts discussed the provision of expert assistance in the establishment of the mine action center at the State Special Transport Service under the general coordination of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine," the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine informs.

During the meeting, the Swedish side got acquainted with the mine clearance activities of the State Special Transport Service, the planned structure of the mine action center, the implementation of legislation in this area, and the training facilities for sappers and sapper divers. Foreign colleagues proposed to involve representatives of the State Special Transport Service in the Swedish national mine action exercises SEE-21 and a joint Swedish-Ukrainian seminar.

The Ministry notes that bilateral cooperation in mine clearance between the Kingdom of Sweden and Ukraine has been going on since last year. Foreign experts provide significant assistance in mine action.

On April 12, Asya Bolotova, mine awareness coordinator and The HALO Trust Operations Assistant, said that the organization had identified 297 minefields in eastern Ukraine with a total area of more than 26 million square meters.

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