EU’s EUR 6m dubbed too paltry for Ukraine arms destruction

By Andrew Beatty

Date: 19/05/05

The European Commission is poised to release €6 million to help in the destruction of Ukraine's vast Soviet-era weapons dumps. But munitions experts say that the EU is doing little to solve a problem that could have serious environmental and security risks for the enlarged Union.

Following a decision on Wednesday (18 May) by the Ukrainian parliament to ratify the Ottawa convention banning landmines, the Commission said it would be releasing the funds, promised a year ago.

Commission spokesperson Emma Udwin said the money would be used to dispose of the country's estimated stockpile of six million PMN-1 anti-personnel land mines.

She said the incentive had helped persuade Ukraine to ratify the convention. "It is a big success," she said.

But others say that the EU is doing little to address the wider problem of reducing Ukraine's estimated 2.5 million tonnes of stockpiled weapons.

"The EU has not shown any interest at all," said Andreas Heinemann-Grüder of the Bonn International Centre for Conversion (BICC).

Experts say that the munitions, left behind by the Soviet army retreating from Poland and neighbouring countries at the end of the Cold War, present a serious risk to European security.

According to a recent BICC report the "overload of depots and arsenals, permanent lack of funds for safeguarding, conservation and disposal of ammunition in Ukraine are fraught with negative environmental consequences for Ukraine and its neighbours".

The report also warned that weapons might get into the hands of "terrorists, criminals, weapons traffickers or rebels", causing "major social disorder on the border of the European Union provoking a flow of refugees, illegal migrants and weapons into the territory of the EU".

Two major arms dumps at Brody and Brukhovychy lie in the western region of L'viv, within 100 kilometres of the Polish border and close to the frontiers with Slovakia and Hungary.

Others are close to the Romanian border. Two at Slavuta, western Ukraine, are close to a nuclear power station and a gas pipeline.

Ukrainian officials have warned others are close to chemical facilities, uncovered, poorly guarded and exposed to fire.

Last year a dump near Kiev caught fire, with the resulting explosions lasting for hours and killing five people.

So far NATO has taken a lead role in disposing of the weapons, but Kiev says that with the total estimated cost of disposing of the weapons approaching €150m, more help is need.

The Ukrainian authorities say that 500,000 tonnes of out-of-date ammunitionneeds to be destroyed immediately.

Following a decision on 18 May 2005 by the Ukrainian Parliament to ratify the Ottawa convention banning landmines, the European Commission announced it would be releasing €6 million to help in the destruction of Ukraine's vast Soviet-era weapons dumps. Commission spokesperson Emma Udwin said the money would be used to dispose of the country's estimated stockpile of six million PMN-1 anti-personnel land mines.