90% of the area was mined: the first village in Kharkiv region fully cleared of mines

In Kharkiv region, they completed demining of the village of Hrakove, whose funding was collected through the UNITED24 platform as part of the “Step by Step” initiative.

According to Delo.ua, this was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Economy.

During a working visit to the region, Ukraine’s Minister of Economy and Environment Oleksandr Kravchenko presented certificates to the head of the local community.

The contract for demining the territory was signed by the Center for Humanitarian Demining and the operator “Humanitarian Security” (tender winner) at the end of 2025 year.

Clearing 58 hectares took over half a year. During this time, sappers removed about 200 mines and over 600 other explosive objects.

According to Oleksandr Kravchenko, Kharkiv region leads in humanitarian demining pace, and it is here that the project to clear an entire settlement first was implemented, 90% of the territory of which was contaminated after the occupation.

“Thanks to effective cooperation between business, the state, and donors, Hrakove with all its infrastructure—the school, kindergarten, park, streets, gardens, fields—is now safe for people. This is the first, but very important step for people to return home, to be able to work on the land, start businesses, and develop the community’s economy. It is a crucial case that can be scaled to other regions,” stressed the head of the Ministry of Economy.

Also during the meeting in the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, with the participation of Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Verkhovna Rada’s Environmental Committee Oleh Bondarenko, the leadership of the Center for Humanitarian Demining, the State Emergency Service, and forestry enterprises, they discussed the issue of combating forest fires.

Currently about 406 thousand hectares of forests require inspection.

Recall that in Ukraine, after demining, territories have been returned to circulation on a larger scale than Odesa region. In total, more than 40,7 thousand square kilometers of de-occupied lands have already been returned to economic use.