Switzerland to give Ukraine demining training

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) – The Swiss Army will offer demining training to Ukrainian experts, Switzerland said Monday.

"As part of NATO's Partnership for Peace, the Swiss Army and the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) regularly hold training courses at the international level," said the Swiss government in a statement.

"With this contribution, clearance work in humanitarian demining in Ukraine should be carried out more safely, efficiently, and effectively," it added.

By mid-May, Ukrainian authorities had removed nearly 80,000 mines and explosive devices, said the Geneva demining center.

The remaining devices "will take years to remove, hindering reconstruction efforts and making it unsafe for people to return to their previous daily lives," GICHD said.

"The Swiss army is now specifically supporting Ukrainian civilian authorities in humanitarian demining by inviting Ukrainian experts to training courses," said the government, adding that several experts will attend the training in the coming weeks.

The travel and accommodation costs will be covered by Switzerland.

Switzerland says it maintains its neutrality and is not a part of NATO, but has backed some of the EU sanctions imposed on Russia after it launched the war in Ukraine on Feb. 24.