Kyiv, Ukraine, March 3, 2025 – MAG (Mines Advisory Group), the global landmine charity, is to receive a total grant of 10 million Canadian dollars (or £5.5m) to support its work in Ukraine until April 2026.
The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced a series of measures to support Ukraine while visiting Kyiv last week, including funding for humanitarian mine action.
The grant from Canada aims to fund MAG and partner organisation the Ukrainian Deminers Association (UDA) in efforts to clear land of unexploded ordnance in the regions of Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Donetsk, and return it safely to communities.
“We know that returning land for productive agricultural use is a strategic priority,” says Jon Cunliffe, MAG Ukraine’s Country Director. “Through this work, livelihoods can be restored, and the fear and danger of coming across explosive ordnance is significantly lessened. This is a humanitarian imperative.”
The grant will also fund a number of other activities, such as explosive ordnance risk education in Kharkiv region, technical and non-technical surveys, as well as capacity strengthening of the Ukrainian National Mine Action Centre.
“With the war now entering its fourth year, the devastating impact – including landmine and unexploded ordnance contamination – is truly unprecedented and will need sustained international commitment to address,” adds Cunliffe. “That’s why we are particularly grateful to the Canadian government, who has been supporting us in Ukraine since May 2024, for their continued trust in our work.”
Since launching operations in Ukraine in 2022, MAG has cleared more than 180,000 square meters of hazardous land around Mykolaiv. We have also conducted over 4,300 explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) sessions, reaching more than 34,000 men, women, and children. Our risk education messages have reached a further 30 million people through TV, radio, and social media campaigns, providing vital information for people to recognise, alert, and stay clear of unexploded ordnance.
To learn more about MAG’s work in Ukraine, click here.
NOTES TO THE EDITOR
The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) is a global humanitarian and advocacy organisation that finds, removes and destroys landmines, cluster munitions and unexploded bombs from places affected by conflict.
MAG also provides education programmes, particularly for children, so people can live, work and play as safely as possible until they clear the land.
The organisation also delivers work to reduce armed violence by educating people about the risks of small arms and light weapons and by destroying and marking weapons and helping authorities to safely store arms and ammunition.
Since 1989, MAG has helped over 20 million people in 70 countries rebuild their lives after war. In 1997, MAG shared the Nobel Peace Prize for its role in banning landmines.
More info: https://www.maginternational.org
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