Switzerland helps clear mines in Ukraine – enabling the deployment of Nadezhda Kudryavtseva (25): She worked in the office – now she removes booby traps

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Before the war, Nadezhda Kudriavtseva (25) worked as a social media manager and opened a sushi delivery service. Now she combs meadows and fields looking for mines, booby traps and duds with a metal detector. The Ukrainian has been working for the Swiss mine clearance organization Fondation suisse de déminage (FSD) for almost a year as a “Sapjor” – as a mine clearance worker.

About a third of Ukraine could be mined by the war. That is an area that is more than four times the size of Switzerland. “If we really want to examine every signal from the metal detector, one person cannot cover more than five square meters in a day,” says Aleksandr Marchenko, 38, a colleague of Kurdriavtseva. According to a report by the Slovak NGO Globsec, which is based on information from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it would take more than 700 years to clear Ukraine of mines and other explosive remnants of war with the personnel currently working in Ukraine.

No reconstruction without demining

Mine clearance is central to the reconstruction of Ukraine. While authorities focus on clearing urgently needed infrastructure such as buildings or roads, organizations such as the FSD are taking care of areas that are important for agriculture and forestry.

Nadezhda Kudriavtseva and her colleagues also mainly investigate fields for unexploded nuclear warheads. They usually do this first with the naked eye or with a metal detector. Before her training – six weeks of theory – she had no idea what mines look like, she says. “Seeing her in person was kind of weird.”

Switzerland wants to expand aid

Ukraine will receive help with demining from Switzerland, among other things. At the reconstruction conference that took place in London last month, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (62) underlined Switzerland’s commitment in this area.

The federal government plans to significantly increase the budget for humanitarian mine clearance in the coming years. In addition to the approximately 18 million Swiss francs spent each year so far, at least another 15 million will be added this year that have been earmarked for Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is still unclear how many millions will be involved in the coming years.

The SP is therefore putting pressure on them: the budget is too small for them and they demand that Switzerland play a coordinating role in clearing mines in Ukraine. In an initiative, she is demanding that Switzerland set up an international humanitarian mine clearance program.

Swiss machines for Ukraine

On the one hand, Swiss money goes to organizations like the FSD. The federal government also wants to support Ukraine directly with equipment. For example, a remote-controlled demining machine from the Digger Foundation was sent to Ukraine in September.

Their manager Frédéric Guerne (54) would like to set up a production line directly in Ukraine. “This could answer Ukraine’s huge need for demining equipment and also secure its long-term maintenance.” He asked the federal government for financial support for the project.

The second Swiss player on the market, the company Global Clearance Solutions (GCS) based in Freienbach SZ, would also like to cooperate with the federal government. Since the outbreak of war, more than ten mine clearance systems have been delivered to Ukraine, says general manager Philipp von Michaelis (48). By the end of the year there should be about 30. The company also trains deminers.

“Parents were totally against it at first”

“We are currently inundated with requests for our systems,” says von Michaelis. Even more than the technical equipment, the Ukraine currently lacks the know-how. “Some customers think that a demining machine works like a lawnmower. It’s not like that.” It is therefore essential to invest sufficient time and money in training staff.

Nadezhda Kudriavtseva’s parents needed time to get used to their daughter’s new job. “In the beginning they were totally against me working as a deminer,” she says. But now they would have accepted it.

“We save lives with our work,” she says. She is sure she wants to stay in Ukraine, despite the war and devastation it brings. “I want to be a mother one day and I want my child to live in a safe environment, free of explosives.”

Source:Blick