MAG, in partnership with APOPO, recently welcomed Peter Wagner, head of the EU Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová, and FPI Regional Programme Manager Arturo Rodríguez Tonelli to its operations in the Mykolaiv region, where they met with teams on the ground.
The visit was part of a new FPI-funded project, “Sustaining Integration of the Technical Survey Dog Methodology and Local Partner Resilience in Mine Action”. The project aims to return safe land to communities for productive use by expanding technical survey and demining operations in Ukraine’s de-occupied territories. With a budget of €5.7 million, it will run until the end of 2026.
As part of the visit, MAG and APOPO demonstrated the range of methodologies they are using in Ukraine to make land safe, including technical survey dogs, manual deminers, and specialised machinery. This “toolbox” approach allows for more efficient surveying of potentially contaminated land and effective clearance of explosive ordnance.
In addition to APOPO, MAG is implementing the project in partnership with the Ukrainian Deminers Association (UDA). All activities are guided by a shared theory of change: by combining innovative technical methodologies with nationally led implementation, strong coordination, monitoring, and capacity development, the mine action sector can deliver rapid land release, build sustainable national capacity, and support recovery efforts in Ukraine.
Tymur Pistriuha, Head of UDA, said: “We are delighted to be a part of this project. UDA teams are deployed under this grant to conduct non-technical survey, helping to expand geographic coverage and embed national ownership. UDA and MAG have been proud partners since 2022.”
Head of FPI Peter Wagner said: “Our goal is simple: support Ukraine in returning land to productive use, help communities fully function again, and lay the foundations for recovery. For this, we work with Ukraine’s government to establish a robust mine action governance, as well as with its mine action actors, supported by trusted international partners, on the ground. This is the same principle we apply worldwide — from crisis response to stabilisation, we bring strategic instruments that deliver impact where it counts most.”
