Earlier this month, donors, partners, and mine action experts gathered in Kyiv to learn about the use of technical survey dogs (TSDs) in humanitarian demining in Ukraine, and to review the results achieved during the first year of the project’s implementation.
An APOPO dog handler and a MAG deminer shared their first-hand experiences from the field, while operational managers discussed how the use of dogs has been adapted to Ukraine’s specific conditions. MAG and APOPO have previously collaborated on similar initiatives in Cambodia and Azerbaijan.
The UN Senior Mine Action Advisor Paul Heslop said: “One thing that attracted me to the project was the idea of training the dogs outside of Ukraine (in Cambodia) during the harsh winter weather, and then bringing them in to the country in time for demining season. It is also another way that we can bring more women into the sector. It would be great to scale up this capacity at the national level and share knowledge with other stakeholders and partners. It’s a very cost-effective solution”.
APOPO’s Head of Mine Action Programmes Michael Heiman: “I think there’s a huge potential for using dogs in Ukraine. Given the overall situation, with vast areas that need to be surveyed – many of which have little or scattered contamination – it’s crucial to address them quickly and help people return and use this land. This is exactly the stage where technical survey dogs can play a major role. As land release efforts continue over the years, we’ll see these vast areas getting smaller and smaller, eventually reaching a stage where only a much smaller portion of confirmed areas will need to be cleared by manual deminers. The scope for technical survey and mine detection dogs in Mine Action in Ukraine is far greater than what APOPO and MAG can deliver alone, and we hope to see scaling among our Ukrainian partners."
Ihor Bezkaravainyi: “Mine action is an extremely important topic. The use of technical survey dogs is a complex but promising field that continues to evolve. Training a person to operate a robot is much easier than preparing and caring for a dog, as it requires working with a living being. At the same time, dogs remain an irreplaceable tool in many situations. We cannot rely solely on robots or other technologies. Each tool in mine action serves its purpose in the recovery of Ukrainian land: if we draw a comparison, dogs are like surgical scalpels, while machines are like casts or external fixation devices. All these tools complement one another — and without any of them, effective work would simply be impossible.”
MAG MEAL Officer Iryna Lysenko states: "During the first year of the project's implementation, the main result achieved was that a solid foundation was laid for further scaling of the technical survey methodology using dogs in Ukraine. A great deal has been accomplished during this time. A training base was established in Krasylivka, where canine teams are trained and certified. An operational base was created in Mykolaiv, ensuring the project's constant presence in the priority needs area. A standard operating procedure (SOP), ‘Use of Technical Survey Dogs,’ has been developed and approved, which is currently the first official document of its kind in Ukraine. National accreditation was obtained, Ukrainian specialists were trained, and a team capable of providing a full cycle of work was formed. These results are systemic – they are not about square metres or indications, but about creating a structure capable of working stably and scalably."
Deputy Head of the Mine Action Department of the Main Directorate for Mine Action, Civil Protection and Environmental Safety, Yevgen Zubarevsky said: "We are not standing still. With the support of APOPO, we are working on an updated version of the standards for the use of animal detection systems. I will personally ensure that the document is reviewed and approved as soon as possible. I hope that the updated standard will come into force in the next operational year, which will speed up the work and increase the efficiency of the TSDs, thereby helping to clear our land of mines as quickly as possible."
Arturo Rodriguez Tonelli, the Regional Programme Manager at the European Commission's Service for Foreign Policy, emphasised: 'We have recently agreed to continue funding this project (“Sustaining Integration of the TSD Methodology and Local Partner Resilience in Mine Action”) until 2027. We are extremely proud of this project and are very pleased with its success. I look forward to hearing the details of the results and possibilities, and I would like to thank the MAG and APOPO teams in the field for their hard work in making it possible."
This initiative was funded by the European Union.
