Ukraine has received 26 service dogs from Bosnia and Herzegovina to carry out demining in the areas most affected by explosive ordnance, Reuters reports. The animals have been specially trained at the Global Mine and Explosive Detection Training Center in Sarajevo, which operates under the auspices of the humanitarian organization Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA).
Established in 2004, the center has trained more than 500 dogs over two decades and sent them to countries with a high level of mine threat, including Cambodia, Zimbabwe, Iraq, and now Ukraine. According to trainer Kenan Muftich, Belgian shepherds like Mae work side by side with sappers in regions affected by the fighting, including Kharkiv and Mykolaiv oblasts. Some of them are near the front line.
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After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine became the most mined country in the world. According to the UN and the Ukrainian government, the density of mines in many regions has reached critical levels. According to a study by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine in cooperation with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, mined areas cost the country more than $11 billion in gross domestic product losses annually.
Mines and unexploded ordnance not only pose an immediate threat to human life, but also block access to agricultural land, limit economic activity and hinder community recovery.
Bosnia, which also has considerable experience in demining after the war in the 1990s, is supporting Ukraine not only through training but also through its proven expertise in training dogs to work in mine-affected areas. According to Muftich, every mine detected is a life or family saved, and the effective work of dogs is a critical part of this fight.
Read also: UNDP Launches Demining Project with Female Teams and Dogs
