At the request of Kiev: Cassis wants to help with mine clearance in Ukraine AI software ChatGPT passes law exam at US university – although it “fails” math

Denis Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, spoke in an interview in January about the “biggest minefield in the world”. The mined area corresponds to more than 40 percent of the land area of ​​Ukraine. That is about 240,000 square kilometers. Other estimates speak of a mining area of ​​160,000 square kilometers. Areas contaminated with explosive material, such as duds, from the war are always included. To illustrate, even this more conservative estimate equates to four times the area of ​​Switzerland.

“Not only does this make it difficult for people to travel, but it also causes major disruption to agriculture, one of our most important industries,” Schmyhal said in the interview. He pointed to the importance of mine clearance, which extends far beyond Ukraine: the country is one of the world’s leading grain producers. Especially poorer countries, for example in North Africa, depend on imports from Ukraine for their existence.

According to reports, Schmyhal has already raised the issue of the minefields in talks with Secretary of State Ignazio Cassis. He would have wanted Switzerland to be involved in mine clearance – and so found Cassis a sympathetic ear. This is confirmed by two independent sources.

Ukraine needs money for equipment and its deminers

According to this information, the Federal Council will soon consider the issue: Contributions to the demining of free areas in Ukraine will be included in the next federal emergency aid package for Ukraine. Cassis recently announced the package at the WEF in Davos, but without providing further information on its scope and content. Now it is clear that it will have to be discussed in the Federal Council in the coming weeks and that, according to unconfirmed information, it will include a support amount of just over 100 million francs.

The amount roughly corresponds to that of the winter support approved by the Bundesrat in November 2022. After the Russian troops deliberately destroyed civilian infrastructure, the focus at the time was on supplying generators or heating systems. As the Agency for Development and Cooperation writes this week, some 18 million people in Ukraine – about 40 percent of the population – are dependent on aid because of the war. Winter further exacerbates this situation, there is no access to drinking water in many places and power and telecommunications are interrupted.

The new package, which won’t take effect until after the winter, is now broader, they say – including mine clearance assistance. Ukrainians in particular will be trained as deminers. Viola Amherd’s defense department should also be involved. However, the know-how is widely available in Ukraine, as the country has been at war since 2014. The focus will probably be on financial support for individual mine clearance teams and the supply of equipment.

The International Center for Humanitarian Demining in Geneva (GICHD) plays a central role in Swiss activities. It is supported by the federal government, among others, and is already active in Ukraine. It continues to provide training in Ukraine “under difficult circumstances”, it said when asked.

No military deployment: neutrality is not violated

Important: Switzerland’s efforts must be limited to humanitarian mine clearance only – so it is not about clearing the way for Ukrainian troops at the front. On the contrary, the suburbs of major cities that have been mined or contaminated with explosive material, as well as agricultural areas temporarily under Russian control, must be made accessible to the population. “This is a mandatory condition for the refugees to ever be able to go home,” says one person involved.

Unlike military mine clearance, humanitarian mine clearance is compatible with neutrality: the responsible authorities in Bern have already clarified this. The new commitment could be part of a strategy proposed by both politicians and international law experts: for reasons of neutrality, Switzerland cannot provide arms and ammunition, but compensates with generous humanitarian aid. Of course, 100 million should not be enough for that.

(aargauerzeitung.ch)