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President of the United States, Joe Biden approves sending anti-personnel mines to Ukraine In another major policy change, he in recent days allowed Ukrainian authorities to use long-range US weapons against Russia, several US media outlets reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Washington hopes that Ukraine uses these anti-personnel mines to strengthen its defensive lines on its territory.while Russia’s offensive threatens to overwhelm Ukraine’s defenses.

At this point Biden asked assurances that Kyiv will strive to limit the risk that mines pose to civilians, according to the newspaper Washington Post and the American television network CNN.

The goal is to mine Help Ukrainian troops strengthen their defenses by stopping the Russian army. – who have made significant gains in the Donetsk region and in recent months have captured territory at the fastest pace since 2022 – and move them into areas where they can be attacked with artillery and missiles.

The United States provided from the first days of the war anti-tank mines in Kyiv to mitigate Russia’s numerical superiority in armored vehicles, but did not agree to the supply of anti-personnel mines, fearing the danger they might pose.

Human rights groups have has long criticized the use of anti-personnel mines because they can kill indiscriminately and can remain active for years after the end of the conflict in which they were originally used.

According to officials consulted by the above-mentioned media, the type of mines the US will provide to Ukraine will be “unsustainable” That is, they will have an internal mechanism to reduce the life of the detonator to reduce the danger to civilians. Ukrainian political leaders have reportedly vowed not to lay mines in densely populated areas.

Neither Russia nor the United States signed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. The Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the installation and transfer of anti-personnel mines. However, Ukraine signed it. This week the UN condemned how, after 1,000 days of war since February 2022, Ukraine has become one of the most mined places in the world, with almost a quarter of its territory mined.

The non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned this Wednesday that the aforementioned international treaty risks being undermined by new use by countries such as Russia or Myanmar, who have not signed up to it despite making “important progress” since it came into force 25 years ago and has been joined by 164 countries, including all NATO members except the US, although President Joe Biden has set a goal of eventually joining the treaty in 2022.

“The positive impact of the treaty can be seen in drop in production of anti-personnel mines, effectively stopping the supply of these weapons and destroying more than 55 million stockpiled mines. However, the new use of landmines by non-NATO countries threatens both civilian lives and the effectiveness of this vital treaty,” said Mark Hiznay, deputy director for armaments at HRW.

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In this sense, he emphasized that “Mine clearance is the most important task, and measures to address the lifelong needs of survivors.” “Governments must ensure that there are sufficient resources for all countries that need assistance so that the humanitarian goals of the treaty are achieved,” he concluded.

(according to information from Europe Press)