Ukraine's losses due to mines and other explosive hazards amount to $11.2 billion annually. This is equivalent to 5.6% of Ukraine's GDP in 2021. The biggest losses are due to a reduction in agricultural exports and a decrease in local tax revenues.
This is stated in a study by the Tony Blair Institute conducted jointly with the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.
Chernihiv, Sumy, Mykolayiv, and Kharkiv Regions lost more than 20% of their regional GDP due to mined areas. In total, local authorities are losing more than $1.1 billion in local taxes.
In its report, the Tony Blair Institute noted that the World Bank estimates that nearly $35 billion would be needed to clear the entire territory of Ukraine of mines. And this money could be reimbursed by Ukraine in less than three and a half years after the land is fully cleared.
According to Yuliya Svyrydenko, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, to speed up the process of land clearance, the government has launched a compensation programme for farmers who plan to clear the agricultural land they work on.
Currently, 10 auctions have been announced in the Prozorro system for the procurement of agricultural land demining services. The total area of land to be demined is over 3,700 hectares.
"We expect that in the next two weeks the auctions will be successfully completed and the first contracts with mine action operators will be signed," said Svyrydenko.
As of the beginning of August, 128 Ukrainian farmers have been killed by explosive devices since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.