Ukraine is now one of the world’s most heavily landmine-contaminated countries. It’s estimated that about one-third of the country has been exposed to war—an area four and a half times the size of Switzerland. The UN has been working with Ukraine’s government for 30 years and has led the mine action programme since 2016.

Paul Heslop has been clearing mines for thirty years, in hotspots ranging from Mozambique to Afghanistan. But as he sees it, all of those experiences were a "dress rehearsal" for Ukraine- his current and most challenging mission yet.

As of June, 540,000 items of unexploded ordnance have already been cleared, but making Ukraine safe is a difficult and very expensive long-term prospect.

The World Bank estimates that the full demining package will cost more than $37 billion. Ukraine cannot solve such a problem alone, so international partners are helping, with UNDP becoming the lead coordinator of mine action in the country.

Since the First and Second World Wars, the Ukrainian Government has been managing risks associated with unexploded ordnance, but the current full-scale war is a whole new level of complexity, according to UNDP.