The machine was designed by the non-profit foundation Digger, with the aim of safely, quickly and efficiently clearing mines from areas of Ukraine that have been contaminated since the start of the war.
The machine has been handed over to the defence ministry (DDPS), according to a ministry press releaseExternal link. It is a DIGGER D-250, a type of tracked vehicle designed for mine clearance in rural areas.
It will be transported to Ukraine by lorry and is scheduled to arrive for September. Transport will be organised by the Geneva-based association Van For Life.
The aim of this Swiss machine is to assist the Ukrainian disaster relief service in clearing mines “quickly, carefully and efficiently”, says the press release.
These explosive charges are scattered tactically in war zones, to be detonated when people or vehicles pass by.
In June, Frédéric Guerne, director and founder of the Digger Foundation, told Keystone-SDA that the project was the result of an initiative by defence minister Viola Amherd.
He added that a second machine of the same type should be ready for delivery to Ukraine by the end of the year, while a third project is under way.
In addition, specialists from the Bern-based non-profit foundation Digger will train the Ukrainian authorities on site in the use of the DIGGER-250.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate them into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
As a Swiss Abroad, how do you feel about the emergence of more conservative family policies in some US states?
In recent years several US states have adopted more conservative policies on family issues, abortion and education. As a Swiss citizen living there, how do you view this development?
Geneva-based UN migration office cuts fifth of workforce
This content was published on
The UN's International Organisation for Migration HQ in Geneva is slashing 20% of its 1,000 staff due to the US aid freeze.
Switzerland budgets CHF 666m to rejoin EU research programmes
This content was published on
Rejoining European Union research programmes, such as Horizon Europe, will cost Switzerland an initial sum of CHF666 million.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Switzerland helps Ukraine with CHF2 billion in 18 months
This content was published on
From February 2022 to July 2023, the Swiss government has supported the population affected by the war in Ukraine with a total of CHF2.03 billion.
This content was published on
A Swiss parliamentary commission has approved two motions to ease re-export rules of war materiel to third countries, including Ukraine.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.