According to a Nov. 19 report in the Washington Post, President Joe Biden has approved providing anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine. Unnamed officials told the Post that the Biden administration is deeply concerned about Russia’s recent assaults on Ukraine’s front lines and sees an urgent need to blunt the advance. The Pentagon believes the provision of the mines is one of the most effective steps the Biden administration can take to slow Russia’s attack. One official said the type of land mine they’ve approved is “nonpersistent,” meaning the mines self-destruct or lose battery charge, rendering them inactive and reducing the danger to civilians.
The official claimed that Ukrainian policymakers had committed to not deploy the mines in densely populated areas. Not mentioned is that during the summer of 2022, Ukrainian forces were dropping Soviet-era Lepostok anti-personnel mines all over civilian areas of Donetsk city and surrounding suburbs, killing several civilians and maiming over 100 of them. Kiev’s promises regarding how they will deploy mines therefore might not be worth much.
