Japan delivered its first shipment of mine-clearing vehicles to Ukraine on Tuesday as part of ¥91 billion ($563 million) in grant aid aimed at assisting the country's reconstruction.
The Japanese government and its Japan International Cooperation Agency provided the State Emergency Services of Ukraine with four mine-clearing vehicles in a ceremony near Kyiv.
About 20 units are scheduled for delivery this year. In the ceremony, Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko expressed gratitude for the Japanese aid.
Manufactured by Nikken, a construction machinery-maker based in Minami-Alps, Yamanashi Prefecture, the mine-clearing vehicle is the first excavator type to be used in Ukraine. It allows versatile functions, such as debris removal and tree felling, by changing its arm tip. Mine-clearing vehicles made by the company have already been used in Cambodia and Afghanistan.
More than 140,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian land, or a fourth of the country's total, is contaminated by land mines or unexploded ordnances, mainly in western and southern areas, where battles against Russia continue. It will take decades to remove them, a senior Ukrainian government official has said.
Nikken President Makoto Amemiya said his company is willing to not only provide machinery but also help build communities.
The delivery ceremony was initially scheduled for Monday but was postponed after Russia launched massive missile attacks on various places in Ukraine.