Because of Russia's invasion, Ukraine has become the most mined country on earth. About a third of the territory is potentially contaminated, and some analysts predict that it will take more than 750 years to clean up using conventional methods and available resources. Yuliia Svyrydenko, First vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, who headed up the Ukrainian Government's coordination of humanitarian demining, is convinced: 80% of contaminated land must be returned to economic use within 10 years. And foreign experts believe that the approaches and technologies used in Ukraine will have an impact on demining activities around the world. This was reported by the influential American publication "Time" in the article "Ukraine uses AI to defuse millions of Russian mines".

The publication notes that mine contamination has put six million civilians at risk. As of 1 November, at least 264 civilians were killed by mines and more than 830 injured. If the problem of mining is not effectively addressed, the number of victims could reach 9,000 by 2030. Pollution has also rendered some of the country's most valuable agricultural land unusable. This affected both Ukraine's economy and global food security.

To speed up demining, Ukraine intends to use all the technological tools at its disposal.

"We are completely changing our approach, especially when it comes to using big data. We have the opportunity to improve existing technologies. And this will be something new that Ukraine will be able to export in the future," the publication "Time" quoted Yuliia Svyrydenko, First vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, as saying.

The government of Ukraine co-operates with US analytics giant 'big data Palantir' to develop models that will determine which demining will have the greatest impact. The software developed by Ukrainian programmers is already being tested: using accurate satellite imagery and artificial intelligence-enabled algorithms, it will help to clear the land faster. Ukrainian manufacturers have developed the first domestic machine for soil preparation, which is much cheaper than foreign equipment. A mine detector Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has also recently been presented, which uses a combination of thermal, hyperspectral and magnetometric sensors to detect mines from a low altitude and transmit information to sappers, the publication writes.

"Over the next three years, we will see fundamental changes in the way humanitarian demining is carried out in Ukraine, which will have an impact on demining activities around the world," told "Time" Paul Heslop, UNDP in Ukraine Demining Programme Manager, noting the Ukrainians' love of innovation and technology.