Website «Demine Ukraine»

Kitsoft developed the web portal* of the National Mine Action Program «Demine Ukraine», which is coordinated by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.  

Ukraine is the most potentially mined country in the world. 144,000 square kilometers are considered potentially contaminated with explosive devices. GLOBSEC experts estimate that it will take dozens of years to clear the mines, and even hundreds of years using conventional methods and resources. 

«Demine Ukraine» is a government program to clear the territory of explosive ordnance and mine contamination caused by russian aggression. The program's mission is to return safe Ukrainian land to all Ukrainians.

The program's web portal contains all the important information about the humanitarian demining of our territories: news, event announcements, reference materials, and legal acts regulating the sector. There is also an opportunity to make a contribution to demining needs, become a partner, donor, or stakeholder of the program, as well as join equipment manufacturers.

*The site is in the testing and filling phase. Some sections may be temporarily unavailable or hidden.

Humanitarian demining is not just about removing mines or bombs. It is an important component of the security of citizens, economic recovery and return to normal life for millions of Ukrainians.

Humanitarian demining is the zero stage of the country's economic recovery.

— Yulia Svyrydenko, Minister of Economy of Ukraine. 

In 2023, with the assistance of the government, 3300 square kilometers were demined. In the first quarter of 2024, 1080 square kilometers were surveyed and cleared of mines, according to the Ministry of Economy. Despite the fact that the pace of surveys exceeds last year's, given the scale of potential contamination, it is important to strengthen the capacity of mine action operators, attract modern technologies and implement innovative solutions. 

The new web portal of the project «Demine Ukraine» will become a single window for all mine action actors — consumers, donors, mine action operators, and all government agencies involved. The website will also contribute to achieving the program's objectives: 

• attract investments for mine action in the country; 
• raise awareness of mine safety among citizens; 
• cooperate with other government agencies and private companies to accelerate and coordinate the demining process; 
• to become a leader in demining, the use of equipment, and effective public awareness and share the experience gained with the world.

The main requirements for the structure of the web portal were convenient and clear navigation and a structured presentation of information with a clear division of areas for different user groups. 

Our team was tasked with developing an online platform that would structure the entire array of data on humanitarian demining for different target audiences. 

During the design process, we conditionally divided the site's users into internal (Ukrainians in mined areas and regions, farmers, and landowners, potential deminers, stakeholders, and companies) and external (governments, private donors, large businesses, and corporations). Next, we identified 5 main user groups, as follows:

1. Operators

2. Farmers

3. Affected people

4. Partners

5. Stakeholders

For each group, we have created sections in the main menu that contain all the information they need: rights, procedures, regulatory framework, etc. This allows representatives of different target audiences to quickly and conveniently find useful information among other things. 

The Documents section contains a list and links to all the normative legal acts (NLA) related to humanitarian demining. The page's functionality allows you to conveniently search for official documents by keywords, type (Law of Ukraine, Order of the Ministry of Economy, Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers, etc.), topic (those related to the above categories of users), number of the NLA and date.  

The first screen of the home page contains general information about the project and an infographic with data on the area of potentially contaminated territory, the number of certified operators and partner countries, and the amount of funds raised for demining. 

There is also an active button for donors that takes you to the page of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy's global initiative United24, which unites people from all over the world to help Ukraine.  

The second screen is represented by an analytics block that shows the progress of demining:

• the amount of land and infrastructure cleared;

• area already returned to use;

• current demining capacity (number of certified operators and vehicles).

The analytical dashboard is dynamic and updates based on the latest data.

The third screen of the home page contains the latest news and events of Mine Action Ukraine with buttons to go to the relevant sections of the site.

About 470 thousand hectares of agricultural land in Ukraine are mined. Their demining and return to economic use is a priority for the Government, as despite the war, Ukraine is a guarantor of global food security. To this end, a state program is in place to compensate farmers for demining costs. 

Information on the procedure for receiving compensation is available on the main page. Farmers can also find a list of certified mine action operators who can analyze the site and confirm the fact of contamination with explosive ordnance. 

The block of the Centre for Humanitarian Demining contains information about its activities. This is an institution in the State Emergency Service of Ukraine established to address issues of optimizing the systems of planning, implementation, and financing of humanitarian demining activities. Detailed information on the tasks, management, role of the Center, etc. appears in the pop-up banner when you select the corresponding block. 

The main page of the web portal also has blocks:

• «State Support» with a list of opportunities for farmers and rights to assistance to victims.

• «Partners» — with links to the details of cooperation, the number of countries and organizations providing assistance, as well as a list of the largest partners in terms of support.

Until now, we have not had a single place to find the information mine action operators, farmers, victims or donors need. This is another step towards greater coordination of efforts, including by informing all key stakeholders about what is happening in the sector. 

— Ihor Bezkaravaynyi, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

Website implemented by the Center for Humanitarian Demining with the support of the Swiss-Ukrainian EGAP Program, implemented by the Eastern Europe Fund and financed by Switzerland.