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Photo story: EU Funding to Mine Clearance and Assistance for Victims of War in Ukraine

DCA-NCA is supporting those, who have lost their homes or been injured in the war, while clearing lands from explosives to limit further casualties.

© Rasmus Emil Gravesen
By Rasmus Emil Gravesen

DCA-NCA Ukraine

“I was home in Kherson for just three days before I was hit by an artillery shell,” says 73-year-old Oleksandr. He tells the story from his wheelchair, in an apartment 50 kilometres away from Kherson, a city that has been part of the frontline in the war in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion. Oleksandr fled Kherson after it was liberated in 2022 but returned in late 2023, hoping to rebuild his life despite the ongoing conflict. He managed to stay only three days before an artillery shell struck him on his way to the pharmacy.

Oleksandr’s story provides an example of the war’s devastating impact on civilians, but it also highlights the crucial support provided by the European Union. Through DCA-NCA’s partnership with Right to Protection, Oleksandr was able to obtain official war victim status. This recognition allowed him to access prosthetics and a significantly higher pension. Without the status, he would have received only 4.900 UAH (approximately €112) per month, barely enough to survive. With the support of DCA-NCA and Right to Protection, he now receives 12.300 UAH (approximately €280) per month, offering him much-needed financial relief.

The EU’s funding not only helps civilian victims like Oleksandr recover but also plays a key role in reducing casualties from unexploded ordnance. Currently, DCA-NCA teams of deminers, funded by the EU, are clearing an area near a hospital in Mykolaiv of dangerous cluster munitions. These munitions pose a significant threat to civilians, but since the demining efforts began in September 2024, 18 submunitions have been safely cleared, making the area safer for the community.

Through these efforts, DCA-NCA is helping to restore safety and dignity to civilians impacted by the war, allowing them to rebuild their lives and live without the constant fear of unexploded ordnance.

“I spent three months in the hospital. I was in constant pain, but they didn’t have enough painkillers, so I could only get relief occasionally. It was hell. During my treatment, I was told they couldn’t save my left leg — it had to be amputated,” Oleksandr says, who lost his leg after an artillery strike in Kherson.
“Without help to gain war victim status, it would never have happened, and I would be facing far greater challenges than I am now,” explains Oleksandr, who has been supported to find a new apartment in Mykolaiv – away from the frontline.
Large parts of Mykolaiv Oblast are still heavily contaminated from unexploded remnants of war.
A humanitarian mine action team is clearing the grounds near a hospital. The area is contaminated by cluster bombs.
Every part of the surface is examined. When the land is released for use again, there is a certainty of it being safe for use by the residents of Mykolaiv.
All deminers are kitted with an individual first aid kit (IFAK) in the unlikely event that something should go wrong.
When deminers are doing clearance, they start from one end of a sector and walk in a line to the other with metal detectors. Every piece of metal in the ground is examined.
Not all areas are easily accessible, which requires high levels of professionalism and teamwork to clear before examining the ground for unexploded ordnance.
While working deminers are at all times wearing protective equipment.
Oleksandr is still learning to walk on his new leg. “I might not be able to walk far, but I am going out every day for a walk,” he says.
EU support for DCA-NCA in Mykolaiv

The European Union has supported DCA-NCA in with funds to reach over 150,000 Ukrainians in the Mykolaiv region.

DCA-NCA will identify and survey hazardous areas, map protection needs and risks, conduct tailored explosive ordnance risk education (EORE), conduct clearance of contaminated areas, and identify cases for legal aid, and social support services.

The target group for the project includes war-affected civilians in the Mykolaiv region, specifically those with damaged homes, former hostages, torture victims, and people living with injuries from the war. The project also extends assistance through DCA-NCA’s Ukrainian partner organisation Right to Protection to the families of deceased or missing individuals, as well as supporting the elderly, internally displaced persons, and first-line responders.

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