Ukraine to receive six robotic demining systems from France

ROCUS demining systems. Photo: Ministry of Economy

France will transfer six modern unmanned demining systems ROCUS to Ukraine under a grant agreement.

According to the Ministry of Economy, the purchase is funded by the French government, and the total cost of the equipment is almost €15 million.

«This is an important step towards the return of security to the de-occupied territories», said First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko.

The grant agreement between Ukraine and France provides 200 million euros for the reconstruction and restoration of critical infrastructure, of which 44 million are earmarked for humanitarian demining.

Yuliia Svyrydenko thanked France for its support and stressed that 19 projects in the areas of healthcare, energy and infrastructure are already being implemented under the agreement. In total, Ukraine will have 13 ROCUS unmanned systems, of which seven will be delivered in 2022.

ROCUS is a robotic demining system that remotely detects, identifies and defuses explosive devices, reducing the risk to deminers. The systems are based on the THeMIS ground-based unmanned platform and are equipped with tools for clearing routes. They will help the SES sappers in de-mining the territories.

Earlier, Germany handed over a new military aid package to Ukraine. It includes ammunition for tanks, IRIS-T and Gepard air defence systems, artillery shells, various types of drones and demining vehicles.