Ukraine has taken delivery of its first mine-clearing machine, which was made by a British company and cost almost $500,000

The Armtrac 400 is made by a British company.

UNITED24

• Ukraine received its first mine-clearing machine, the Armtrac 400, which was made by a UK company.
• Deputy prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Ukraine was fundraising for another.
• It is designed to clear paths through minefields and has a motorized system to detonate mines.

Ukraine has taken delivery of its first mine-clearing machine, which was made by a British company. 

Since the invasion in February, Ukraine and Russia have used landmines in four regions: Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Sumy.

Human Rights Watch says there's no way to quantify the casualties or humanitarian impact of landmine use since the war began.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set up an initiative called UNITED24 to attract donations from around the world. Funds raised through the initiative have allowed Ukraine to buy an Armtrac 400 for the Kharkiv region, which is no longer occupied but remains contaminated with mines.

Ukraine paid almost $500,000 for the Armtrac 400.

UNITED24

The mine-clearing vehicle was developed and manufactured by Armtrac, based near Cambridge, England.

Robin Swanson of Armtrac told Insider that Ukraine first expressed an interest in the machine in April. 

It was sent out to Poland in September and was moved to Ukraine earlier this month. The managing director, Stephen Brown, went to Ukraine to train about seven operators.

A sapper – a soldier who completes military engineering tasks – will operate the Armtrac 400.

UNITED24

The vehicle will be operated by a sapper, a soldier who completes military engineering duties such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses, and road and airfield construction and repair. 

Armtrac 400's 3-meter hydraulic rotor allows for 2,400 square meters to be cleared an hour and neutralizes explosives at a depth of 21 inches. The vehicle can withstand anti-tank mines weighing up to 22 pounds.

It can be controlled from a distance of up to 800 meters to ensure the operator's safety, or from within the armored and soundproof cabin.

The Armtrac spokesperson said the machine works using two types of rotating tools – the forward tiller or the flail. 

Both either detonate the landmines or neutralize them by separating the fuse from the main charge. The choice of toolkits depends on the conditions of the terrain being cleared.

The mining-clearing machine was purchased for $491,808. 

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