Kyiv: Britain's Prince Harry on Friday visited deminers from the HALO Trust charity — made famous by his mother, Princess Diana — near the Ukrainian town of Bucha, where he tested how drones and AI-powered robots are transforming mine-clearance work.
Russian troops occupied the Kyiv suburb for a month after they attacked in February 2022, killing hundreds of civilians in a massacre that was met with outrage and a hardening of support for Kyiv.
When Moscow's forces withdrew they left large areas around the town contaminated with unexploded missiles, bombs and grenades.
HALO said most of the land there is now safe after four years of work clearing the area.
"It's amazing to see how technology is transforming the work of the HALO Trust — making demining smarter, faster and safer", Harry said.
Wearing a virtual reality headset, Harry piloted an AI-powered drone designed to detect and map explosives; and later operated a robot used to retrieve them.
The prince hailed his mother's work to raise awareness of mine clearing efforts in Africa some three decades ago.
"When my mum visited Angola nearly 30 years ago, deminers were doing their work on their knees to find hidden explosives", he said.
Diana had in 1997 visited HALO Trust sites in Angola, where she was famously walked through a minefield wearing body armour.
"Now they also use drones, artificial intelligence and robots for greater accuracy and protection", Harry said, highlighting the role now played by technology in mine-clearing efforts.
The Ukrainian government estimates that 23 per cent of its total territory — around 137,000 square kilometres, an area larger than Greece — is contaminated by land mines and other unexploded ordnance.
Harry arrived in Kyiv for a surprise visit on Thursday.
In a speech at a security forum he urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the war and called on Washington to step up its efforts to secure an end to the war. — AFP
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