WP reported on Biden's approval of anti-personnel mines supplies to Ukraine

US President Joe Biden has authorized the supply of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine in order to deter the advance of Russian troops. This was reported by The Washington Post on November 19, citing a source.

"When used in conjunction with other munitions that we already supply to Ukraine, they are expected to contribute to a more effective defense," - stated in the material of the publication.

It is noted that Kiev promised not to use mines in densely populated areas. The publication's sources added that these mines would be used only on the territory that Washington considers Ukrainian. However, arms control experts warn about the threat to civilians from anti-personnel mines.

As the newspaper pointed out, by authorizing the delivery of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine, Biden is contradicting his own policy. In 2022, he actually reversed former US President Donald Trump's decision on mines and renewed the ban.

Earlier, on October 4, the Pentagon said the US would send four HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, 32 artillery pieces and 200 armored vehicles, Claymore anti-personnel mines, a thousand 155mm rounds for remote demining, and equipment for setting up barriers to Ukraine as part of a new $625 million military aid package.

Last November, Mark Hiznay of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) said that Ukraine had repeatedly violated the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines. The researcher pointed out that UNIDIR also has information about their use by Kiev in Donetsk.

Before that, at the end of October 2023, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative in Geneva Andrei Belousov also pointed to Ukraine's violation of the Ottawa Convention. He noted that the Ukrainian military was purposefully mining civilian infrastructure with PFM-1 "Lepestok" anti-personnel mines in a number of settlements and towns in Donbass.

The Ottawa Treaty, or the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines, signed on December 3, 1997, prohibits the use, stockpiling, as well as the production and transfer of anti-personnel mines. More than 160 states are parties to the treaty, and Ukraine ratified it in 2005.

Western countries have increased military and financial support for Ukraine against the background of Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which began on February 24, 2022. The decision to hold it was taken by the Russian president because of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to the increased shelling by Ukrainian troops.