MRead in Ukraine September 2025: The Reality

No briefing paper, conference presentation, or satellite image prepares you for the scale of Ukraine's landmine contamination. To stand in it, to watch trained deminers work methodically through minefields laid along the three Russian axes of advance in 2022, in communities that have been shattered and are slowly, determinedly, being rebuilt is both humbling and galvanising.

That is why we go. Not to observe from a distance, but to understand the problem from the ground up, and to ensure that what MRead is building is shaped by operational reality rather than laboratory assumptions.

The Human Dimension

Ukraine is now the most mined country in the world. The scale of contamination is confronting. The continued threat from Russian missile and drone attacks adds a layer of danger that deminers navigate every single day, and yet they go to work. In all weathers, against high threat, in some of the most heavily contaminated terrain on earth. Their determination is extraordinary. It drives us.

A Channel 10 News crew documented what demining in Ukraine actually looks like, and the resulting coverage, alongside reporting by the ABC, is an important part of making the global public understand what is at stake. Media coverage of this kind matters. It builds the political will and the financial support that the mine action community depends on.

Building the Partnership Network

The visit was structured to maximise engagement across the full spectrum of organisations operating in Ukraine's mine action space.

Paul Heslop, UNDP Ukraine, set the tone on Day 1 with a frank and direct assessment of what is needed: realism, momentum, and a bias toward action. The humanitarian demining space has no room for ideas that cannot be operationalised.

Ed Crowther, UNDP Europe and Central Asia, provided outstanding support throughout, opening doors, making introductions, and helping MRead understand where it can make the most meaningful contribution. The connections established through Ed's network have significantly advanced MRead's in-country positioning.

Oleh Stoiev, Ministry of Economy Mine Action, provided invaluable guidance on the practical pathway for MRead's technology in Ukraine, covering partnerships, certification requirements, manufacturing options, technical specifications, and trial frameworks. These are the conversations that move a technology from development into deployment.

Three Days with The HALO Trust

MRead spent three days embedded with The HALO Trust, the organisation that has been a foundational partner in the development of MRead's sensor from the beginning. Peter Smith QGM and Bruce Edwards hosted the visit and took the team directly into the active minefields along the 2022 Russian advance corridors.

The devastation to local communities along these axes is severe. In the east, where contamination is at its most intense, the challenge for deminers is compounded by mine density, modern mine design, and the ongoing threat environment. This is precisely where advances in detection technology can have the most impact, and where HALO's own R&D programme, which is genuinely impressive, is focused. The alignment between HALO's operational priorities and MRead's technology development roadmap has never been clearer.

The Broader NGO Community

The visit also provided an opportunity to engage with the wider constellation of NGOs operating across Ukraine's mine action landscape — each bringing distinct approaches, geographic focus, and technical expertise:

Mark Dawson MIExpE, FSD — whose operational experience in complex contaminated environments added important perspective on detection requirements.

Paul Mosley and Amelia Balic, Norwegian People's Aid — with whom MRead's forthcoming Ukraine trials are planned for October–November 2026, this was a valuable early engagement ahead of that programme.

Jon Cunliffe, MAG (Mines Advisory Group) — whose long operational history in post-conflict demining brought a broader geographic context to the conversation.

Wayne Lomax, Danish Refugee Council — highlighting the intersection between displacement, community recovery, and land release as interconnected humanitarian priorities.

Government and Diplomatic Engagement

Discussions with Australian Ambassador Paul Lehmann and Defence Attaché Colonel Tony Bennett DSM were productive and well-aligned. MRead continues to work closely with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to explore how Australia's deep technology capability can contribute, in a targeted and meaningful way, to Ukraine's mine action efforts.

What This Visit Means for MRead

Every visit to Ukraine sharpens MRead's understanding of what the sensor needs to do, how it needs to perform, and what the deminers who will use it actually require. That ground truth is irreplaceable. It cannot be replicated in a test lane. It cannot be inferred from a technical specification document.

The brave men and women clearing mines across Ukraine, every day, in impossible conditions, deserve the best technology the world can develop. That is what MRead is building. And visits like this one remind us, with absolute clarity, why it matters.

For media and partnership enquiries, contact MRead at info@mread.com.au

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