EU trains female sappers with dogs for Ukraine army

The European Commission has announced the completion of training for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) of a unit of eight Ukrainian female sappers and 16 Belgian shepherd dogs for demining.

They were trained in Cambodia with a €2-million grant, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

"The 16 Belgian sheepdogs will be the first demining dogs deployed in Ukraine. Together with their eight operators, who are all Ukrainians, they have undergone thorough training in Cambodia for five months," the European Commission said.

“All the women have also completed manual demining courses."

"In individual cases, the dogs can check large areas of land much faster than human sappers, which will make it possible to conclude whether the land is dangerous or not," the document said.

The project was funded "through a €2-million grant from the European Commission's Foreign Policy Instruments service".