Ukraine loses $11 billion yearly due to landmines
Source: Ukraine’s economy ministry
Ukraine is losing $11.2 billion annually because of landmines, a grim figure equivalent to 5.6% of the country’s 2021 GDP, according to a report by the Tony Blair Institute, conducted alongside the Ministry of Economy.
Some regions are paying an even steeper price. Chernihiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv have seen over 20% of their local GDP vanish, while their budgets miss out on more than $1.1 billion in tax revenue.
To speed up demining, the Ukrainian government has rolled out a compensation program for farmers brave enough to clear their agricultural land of deadly explosives. There are also efforts to ramp up the number of demining operators, with ten auctions already announced on the Prozorro platform to purchase demining services for farmland.
In her meeting with philanthropist Howard Buffett, Ukraine’s economy minister Yuliia Svyrydenko revealed that Kyiv plans to demine at least 3,700 hectares. According to the World Bank, demining the entire country could cost a staggering $35 billion.
On a brighter note for farmers, the Ukrainian government recently upped its compensation for demining agricultural land to cover 100% of costs, compared to the previous 80%.
To commemorate the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion, “Bukvy” has compiled data on the largest donors supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Among them there are charitable foundations and businesses. The list includes, in particular, foundations that provide assistance exclusively from their own resources, without fundraising (such as SCM by Rinat Akhmetov, Epicenter, etc.).
In just 1.5 months, Ukrainian specialists have created an innovative protective shell for the control modules of anti-aircraft missile systems (AMS) Patriot and Iris-T SLM. This development was another step in strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities, aimed at protecting key elements of the air defense system from debris damage.
Military serviceman of the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine with the call sign “Paradox” is the crew commander of the American M113 armored personnel carrier. He is a master at using it and is constantly improving, because the legionnaire’s skills are tested every day in battle. You have to drive to the front lines, often under artillery fire and drone attacks.
Notorious supporter of the concept “in order for a cow to eat less and give more milk, it needs to be fed less and milked more” “Servant of the People” Danylo Hetmantsev, under the guise of “business requirements”, registered a draft law on the collection of VAT on all foreign purchases, regardless of their value. In other words, every Ukrainian, buying goods of any value and purpose abroad, when sending them to Ukraine, will have to pay an additional fifth part, or 20% of the cost of the goods.
Source: UJCU A Molotov cocktail was thrown at a facade of a synagogue in Mykolaiv…