Croatia Donates Robotic Demining System to Ukraine
Croatia has donated a DOK-ING MV-4 robotic demining system to Ukraine. The certificate for the equipment was handed over to representatives of the Ukrainian side by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the Republic of Croatia Ivan Anušić and the heads of the manufacturer right on the podium of the Globsec Forum international conference in Prague, Ukrinform reports.
Croatia is working with Ukraine on humanitarian demining both bilaterally and multilaterally, in particular, as part of the Lithuanian-led coalition.
Anušić noted that the process of demining Ukraine will take a lot of time and a lot of money.
‘Demining is a huge task, and international support is very much needed. Ukraine is not alone, we will work together as long as necessary,’ the Croatian minister said.
He announced the results of a donor conference held in Zagreb in 2023. According to him, almost half a billion dollars was raised there.
This will contribute to the success of the recovery, as humanitarian demining is a prerequisite for reconstruction, economic development and the return of people to their homes, the Croatian government representative added.
DOC-ING manufactures robotic systems for remote-controlled demining. Since the beginning of the Russian war, it has already handed over 42 such systems to various structures in Ukraine, which have cleared almost 12 million square metres of territory and defused more than 5,600 mines and other explosives without causing any casualties. More than 150 system management specialists have been trained so far. The company will soon open an office in Ukraine.
The Croatian company DOK-ING was founded 30 years ago when the country needed equipment to clear its own territory. After Croatia's war for independence in the 1990s, about 30% of the territory was contaminated, and demining is scheduled to be completed only at the end of 2026.
In early August, the European Union allocated €2 million to fund a new humanitarian demining initiative in Ukraine.
In addition, on 16 July, the US Department of State handed over new demining equipment worth $5.8 million to the State Special Transport Service of Ukraine.