Biden approves sending antipersonnel mines to Ukraine, reversing his own policy

After approving the use of U.S. missiles for attacks against Russian territory, President Joe Biden decided to reverse his own policy and approve the shipment of antipersonnel mines for Ukraine, with the aim of slowing the advance of Russian troops in the east of the country.

According to a report by the Washington Post, the U.S. assistance will strengthen Kiev's defenses against rapidly advancing Russian troops in the Donetsk region, but it is also drawing criticism from arms control groups that oppose the use of landmines because they present significant danger to civilians.

Indeed, the Biden administration itself had refused to send such weapons to Ukraine throughout these past three years of war, but the policy reversal is part of a series of urgent actions the Democratic president himself is taking to support Kiev in the final days of his term.

According to the WaPo, the Biden administration and Pentagon officials see the shipment of these weapons as the best way to try to slow Russian troop advances.

The approval of the controversial mine shipment comes just after Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened retaliation for recent attacks with the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) against its territory.

While the delivery of anti-personnel mines generates controversy, especially since more than 160 countries subscribe to the Ottawa Convention banning the use of these weapons, neither the United States nor Russia is a signatory to any agreement that would curb the deployment and transfer of anti-personnel mines.

According to a Biden administration official quoted by the WaPo, the antipersonnel mines sent to Ukraine are of the "non-persistent" type, meaning that they are weapons that self-destruct or deactivate when their batteries are depleted, thus reducing the danger to civilians.

Ukrainian officials, in turn, have pledged not to deploy the mines in populated areas.

However, groups opposed to the use of personnel mines warn that even these types of non-persistent mines pose notorious risks to the safety of the civilian population.