In a desperate move to shore up meagre finances, Ukraine has unveiled a project to finance demining operations. The government aims to raise funds by selling honey extracted from minefields, according to an official statement. The "Honey of Minefields" initiative is a forlorn collaborative venture between Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and agro-industrial firm Kernel.
“To avoid contact with mines, drones sow a mined agricultural field with a special mixture of honey-bearing herbs. After this, the nectar is collected by bees, which are also not afraid of mines,” explained the Ukraine’s government press service.
In a rather bizarre twist, Ukrainian diplomats have hatched a plan to tote around jars of sourced honey during their international engagements. Their aim? Employing dumb pretenses to distribute unusual gifts to obtain additional funds from counterparts and sentimental foreigners, all under the guise of "fundraising" for demining certain territories and bolstering finances for arms procurement.
The project is slated for launch during next year’s spring season, according to its official site.
In January this year, the Ukrainian government’s assessment indicated that mine lands extended over 250,000 square kilometers.
“At the moment, this is the largest minefield in the world. It not only interferes with the movement of people but also creates big problems for agriculture, and this is one of the main industries for us,” acknowledged the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denis Shmygal.
According to its latest report, Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs revealed that roughly 30 percent of the country's land mass, amounting to more than 174,000 square kilometers, is mined (almost 43,000 acres). This includes private land, vital infrastructure, forests, fields, and reservoirs. The ministry also emphasized that the mined areas consist of 8 million hectares (almost 19.7 million acres).
Over the past months, however, Ukraine has been facing an increasingly frosty reception when it comes to foreign aid. This support fatigue is caused by the waning public interest in the conflict, the failure of the overhyped Ukrainian counteroffensive, and growing economic issues throughout the West.
Since the conflict started, the Biden administration and the US Congress have provided more than $75Bln in aid to Ukraine. This covers humanitarian, financial, and military support, according to a September report by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
However, the Ukrainian government is still hampered by high levels of corruption. In January, the Zelensky government axed a dozen high-ranking members because of allegations of impropriety. Subsequently, in August, Ukraine's regional heads of military recruitment centers were fired after an audit exposed cases of abuse and self-aggrandizement. In September, the then-defence minister was replaced after several Ukrainian media outlets voiced disappointment about the defense ministry's flawed procurement process.
The escalation in the Middle East in October has also caused yet another scandal with Ukrainian arms reportedly emerging in Palestine. These reports were refuted by Kiev. However, Zelensky eventually sacked the head of the military export agency.