Lithuanian specialists scan territories of Bucha, Borodyanka in Ukraine

VILNIUS – The Construction Sector Development Agency (CSDA) has completed the drone scanning of the territories of the war-ravaged Ukrainian towns of Bucha and Borodyanka for a 3D urban planning tool.

The aerial mapping services in these municipalities were provided by Artificial Intelligence Map LLC (AIMap), a Ukrainian company that won a tender launched by the CSDA, the agency said in a press release.

Several drones were severely damaged during the scanning work. 

"Even though all local residents and services were informed in advance about the friendly drone flights, two of our suppliers' drones were irreparably damaged when unidentified individuals electronically disconnected their controls and landed them," said Tomas Gulbinas, head of the agency's special Ukraine project.

One drone crashed into private property and could only be recovered with the help of local police. The drone is repairable, but it could not continue the scanning.

The gathered information is currently being analyzed by ID Vilnius, the company responsible for processing and transferring the data to the 3D platform for the project.

The project carried out by the CSDA and ID Vilnius aims to develop a three-dimensional platform that will allow visualizing ongoing and planned construction projects in the Ukrainian towns, as well as their impact on the environment and the population.

"The 3D planning tool created from the collected data will be useful for both builders and designers, and will promote faster reconstruction of sustainable and high-quality buildings," Aidas Vaiciulis, the agency's director, said in the press release. 

"Lithuania continues to help Ukraine in every possible way in its fight for freedom," he added. 

The project also includes training on the use and improvement of the 3D platform for Bucha and Borodyanka municipal staff.

The municipalities in the Kyiv region suffered greatly from Russia's attack at the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, with thousands of buildings destroyed and damaged.