Diplomats Bake Easter Cakes with Ukrainian Flour from Demined Territories

Diplomats, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and opinion leaders gathered in Brooklyn’s Ukrainian Veselka Restaurant to bake Easter cakes using flour made from grain harvested in the demined fields of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, The Gaze reports, citing the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.

The symbolic masterclass, part of the international Soul of Soil 2.0 campaign, spotlighted Ukraine’s progress in humanitarian demining and its global role in food security.

The event drew high-level attendees, including Haoliang Xu, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNDP Deputy Administrator, alongside diplomats from countries such as Germany, Japan, Italy, the Republic of Korea, Croatia, and Denmark. 

‘Humanitarian demining is a challenge not only for Ukraine, but for the whole world, because before the invasion, we fed 400 million people globally. Today, our grain is exported to 57 countries, including developing ones: Somalia, Yemen, and Sudan,’ said Yulia Svyrydenko, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

‘This is the bread on the tables of millions of people around the world. And it is very symbolic that the flour for this event was provided by a Ukrainian flour producer who buys grain from the de-occupied areas and the border with Russia and then exports this product to the US market,’ Svyrydenko added.

The flour used came from Ukrainian wheat grown near the Russian border, in the northern part of the Kharkiv region. With 139,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory still potentially mined—an area the size of Greece—mine clearance remains a daunting yet critical task. Thanks to international collaboration, 35,000 square kilometers have been reclaimed, allowing agricultural production to resume.

‘Soul of Soil 2.0 shows us how connected we all are - to the land, to the people who work on it, and to the traditions that sustain the country through stories and food,’ said Haoliang Xu.

’UNDP remains committed to supporting the government and people of Ukraine in addressing the challenges of demining,’ he added.

Read more on The Gaze: Ukrainian Corn Poised to Replace U.S. Supply Amid New Tariffs