The Biden administration agreed to supply Ukraine with landmines that it can scatter around its countryside in a bid to deter Russian forces, according to multiple reports.
The antipersonnel landmines will cover the frontlines of the war and should be effective in defending against ground forces, which Russia has started to rely more on heavily rather than armored vehicles, according to reports. President Joe Biden, now effectively a “lame duck” president, is throwing sharpened support behind Ukraine’s military efforts during his final months in office, even as some of his methods have raised concerns of escalated tension with Russia.
The mines will satisfy Ukraine’s “need for things that can help slow down that effort on the part of the Russians,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters on Wednesday, per The New York Times. “They’ve asked for these, and so I think it’s a good idea.”
Antipersonnel mines are a hotly debated method of warfare and have drawn criticism from human rights groups, given the indiscriminate danger they pose to civilians. Over 160 nations have signed an international agreement to ban the mines from use in conflict. Russia has made use of antipersonnel mines since its war with Ukraine began over two years ago — not particularly surprising, given that Russia has violated international humanitarian and wartime law for years.
Biden also recently granted Ukraine the ability to fire U.S.-provided long-range missiles deep into Russian territory, which Kyiv did on Tuesday for the first time since the war began. The move puzzled some national security experts given that the Biden administration has been hesitant to allow Ukraine to do so until now.
A number of experts expressed concerns that Biden’s latest moves would only drag the U.S. closer to a direct conflict with Russia, raising the specter of a much broader and potentially devastating conflict. Moscow said on Monday that the actions mark a “new round of tension,” and Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the country’s standard for the conditions in which nuclear weapons can be used.
Tensions are growing between the U.S. Russia and Ukraine this week, and the path to peace appears murkier than before. After Ukrainian forces fired long-range missiles into Russia this week, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine abruptly shut down Wednesday, issuing a warning that a “significant” aerial attack may be imminent across the country.
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