Pentagon chief confirms Kiev's authorization to use anti-personnel mines

The administration of US President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use anti-personnel mines, which it plans to transfer, on the line of contact in Donbas. This was announced by Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin to journalists during a trip to Laos on November 20.

"The landmines that we would like to provide them are not in explosive form all the time, you know, we can control when they will self-activate, self-detonate," said the US defense secretary, his words quoted by the British newspaper The Guardian.

In his opinion, such mines will be safer than the bombs that Ukraine makes on its own. The Pentagon chief added that this U.S. decision is due to the fact that the fastest way to advance on the battlefield of a special operation is by Russian infantry, not armored personnel carriers. Austin believes that anti-personnel mines can allegedly help the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

The Guardian recalls that such mines are banned in dozens of countries, including the UK, and relays a statement from the Prime Minister's office that London will not follow Washington and Kiev in supporting the latter under the Ottawa Convention, which does not allow the use of such weapons.

Earlier in the day, The Washington Post (WP) reported that the current US president had authorized the supply of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine to "deter the advance of Russian troops." The publication drew attention to the fact that Biden, by allowing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use such weapons, contradicts his own policy. WP recalled that in 2022 he renewed the ban on the use of such mines, effectively reversing the decision of his predecessor Donald Trump.

On the same day, political analyst, retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Earl Rasmussen pointed out that Biden gave the AFU permission on mines because Kiev is in a desperate position on the battlefield. The expert emphasized that this step of the American president is controversial, because anti-personnel mines pose a danger to civilians.

At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for Kiev's crimes, Rodion Miroshnik, said in a conversation with Izvestia that Kiev's use of anti-personnel mines was criminal. He pointed out that Ukraine, according to the Ottawa Treaty, had been obliged to destroy its weapons of this kind since 2009, but failed to fulfill this obligation. Miroshnik reminded that the AFU constantly uses such mines, for example, "Lepestok".

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the backdrop of Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022. The decision to conduct 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.