We look forward to Azerbaijan's expanding assistance with equipment to clear Ukrainian land of anti-tank mines
Today, the Deputy Chairwoman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk began an official visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan.
In Baku, the Vice-Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine met with the First Deputy Head of the Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Bahruz Mammadov, and his colleagues.
"Mine clearance of the de-occupied territories is a humanitarian challenge that unites Ukraine and Azerbaijan. This is our common problem, which, unfortunately, leads to injuries and casualties among the population of both countries," said Olena Kondratiuk during the meeting.
She also cited some shocking figures. According to experts, due to the consequences of russian aggression, Ukraine is the most mined country in the world today. 174 thousand square kilometers of Ukrainian territory are dangerous, 5.6 million hectares of land are mined, which is more than the entire territory of some EU countries.
According to her, this is also a serious problem for Azerbaijan: from 2022 to 2024, 134 thousand hectares of land were demined and more than 67 thousand mines and explosive devices were defused. This work has especially intensified after the complete de-occupation of the Karabakh region.
On behalf of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Parliament, Olena Kondratiuk expressed gratitude to the Republic of Azerbaijan for its significant and practical assistance in the process of humanitarian demining.
Azerbaijan conducts demining trainings. A separate area is the involvement of women in this process. They have established our own production of modern demining machines. Recently, Azerbaijan handed over one of its anti-personnel mine clearance machines to Ukraine. This equipment is now working in the Kharkiv region.
The Deputy Chairwoman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine also asked the Azerbaijani side to provide Ukraine with a machine for the disposal of anti-tank mines.
"We look forward to deepening cooperation between the SES of Ukraine and the Mine Action Agency”, — Olena Kondratiuk expressed her hope for the expansion of the assistance provided by Azerbaijan to clear the Ukrainian land of deadly mines.