AI will be involved in the demining of Ukrainian lands

The Ministry of Economy and the Palantir technology company, which specializes in big data analytics, signed a partnership agreement. Cooperation will take place in such areas as the digitization of humanitarian demining operations, the automation of the processes of the National Mine Action Strategy for the period until 2033, the expansion of opportunities for the coordination of land clearance and assessment, the determination of regional priorities and risk management in mine action, the use of an assistant based on an artificial intelligence platform Palantir (AIP) for Mine Action Decision Making.

It is planned that the platform will work with large databases formed by structures related to the implementation of mine action activities, starting from local self-government bodies, regional authorities, ministries and departments and ending with mine action operators. In particular, it is assumed that the databases will contain both permanent information, for example, an assessment of the economic efficiency of land, the proximity of contaminated territories to communications, etc., and operational information, which will be regularly updated. It is, in particular, about the survey data of the territories of the State Emergency Service, State Security Service, non-governmental operators, the number and condition of equipment, the presence of pyrotechnic units in specific areas, etc.

With Palantir's AIP capabilities, the platform is expected to analyze information and provide recommendations for process optimization. For example, it will be able to advise, taking into account all the data, how to most effectively clear a specific area - with the help of new demining methods, such as drones, or with the use of traditional methods. The ultimate goal is to clear the territory faster and at lower costs.

The Ukrainian Government believes that humanitarian demining is the zero stage of Ukraine's recovery. Currently, 156,000 square kilometers of land are potentially contaminated, and more than 6 million Ukrainians are at risk. That is why the acceleration of humanitarian demining, in particular thanks to cooperation with large technological companies, is an opportunity to save people's lives and start the reconstruction of Ukraine faster.

It should be noted that last year more than 200,000 hectares of agricultural land were returned to use. Currently, the Government and international partners are working on strengthening the capabilities of operators and strategic planning of the work of all relevant parties in the field of mine action for the next 10 years. In particular, as of December 15, 2023, 268,600 hectares of land were surveyed out of about 470,000 hectares planned for priority survey and demining. Of them, about 205,000 hectares have been returned to operation. More than 5,000 ha were surveyed last week. The largest - 3.8 thousand hectares - in the Kherson region.

We will remind that last summer, the Deputy Spokesman of the UN Secretary General, Farhad Gak, announced the start of a project in Ukraine to clean agricultural land from explosive objects, in particular mines. This project is implemented by the World Food Program of the United Nations, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Swiss Mine Action Fund. The goal of the project is to support small farmers and rural families, the most affected by hostilities. The program has already been launched in the Kharkiv region and is planned to be extended to Kherson region and Mykolaiv region. The UN representative added that they plan to support farmers with plots of land up to 300 hectares, as well as rural families that grow food for themselves. The initiators claim that the program will help return land to use, as well as restore agricultural production in Ukraine.

It is known that Ukraine aims to return 80% of potentially contaminated land to productive use within 10 years. As reported in the press service of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, this requires "clear coordination between all participants in the process, focus and innovative approaches." According to available estimates, 90% of the work in Ukraine will be related to the release of land and only about 10% - to demining. Therefore, it is suggested to identify slightly polluted or non-polluted lands among potentially polluted ones and quickly return them to use. Demining of areas with a high density of pollution will be delayed. This approach will make it possible to rationally use resources and quickly return significant areas to productive use.