The ministry cited research from the Tony Blair Institute. According to the study, Ukraine’s Chernihiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv oblasts have lost over 20% of their GDP due to mine contamination. Local authorities are missing out on more than $1.1 billion in local tax revenue. Ukraine’s Economy Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, told philanthropist Howard Buffett about a government compensation program for farmers who pay for minesweeping services on their arable land. “Currently, there are 10 auctions announced on the Prozorro platform for the procurement of demining services for agricultural lan…