Veteran Vitaly Kucherenko founded a company which is engaged with humanitarian demining of the de-occupied territories.
He purchased special equipment with the help of the funds provided by the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation. In 2022, Vitaly was invited to participate as an expert in the draft of the Law “On Mine Action in Ukraine”.
The veteran became curious whether he would be able to create a non-governmental demining organization on his own and in that way benefit the state, himself, and his family.
“As a military man, I understand the scale of this problem. After returning to civilian life, I always wanted this land to be safe for me, my children and grandchildren,” says Vitaly.
It was difficult to start, but the veteran enlisted the advice of specialists, used his own savings and got support from friends. Together with his colleagues, he worked in the Donetsk region, but the full-scale invasion prevented them from continuing the work.
One of the goals of the business is also to help brothers in arms, to provide jobs and to socialize them. Vitaly’s team consists of former military servicemen, most of them have now returned to the frontline. But the company has already prepared replacement specialists in its training center.
The team plans to work in Zhytomyr Oblast. In an area of 7 square kilometers that should be demined.
