Biden approved anti -person mines for Ukraine: New course

Biden approved anti -person mines for Ukraine: New course

The bid administration has given the approval for the first time to provide anti-personnel mines to ukraine which represents an important change of policy. This decision was made only a few days after the USA ukraine To fire long-distance missiles to targets in Russia. This turn occurred after months of negotiations on the part of Kyiv.

objective of delivery

The United States intends that Kiev will use the anti -person mines in the east of the country, where Russian troops are slowly but steadily making progress against the lines of defense. These grueling fights cost a lot of Moscow, with Ukraine claiming that Russia suffered the highest losses this week. The tireless pressure of Russia, coupled with a lack of Ukrainian troops and ammunition, has made it possible for the military to gradually conquer more territory.

defensive use in focus

The United States expect the anti -person mines to strengthen the lines of defense on a sovereign Ukrainian territory, not as an offensive weapon in Russia. In addition, the US government has called for collateral that Ukraine will endeavor, to minimize the risk for civilians through these minimizes.

a controversial change of policy

The decision of the administration was first reported by the Washington Post . In the early days of the war, the United States had made an anti -tank mines available to reduce numerical superiority in armored vehicles. So far, however, the bid administration had not delivered any anti-person mines because there were concerns about the associated dangers. Human rights groups have long been criticizing the use of anti -personnel mines because they can demand human life indiscriminately and remain functional for years, long after the conflict in which they were used.

obligations for limitation

in June 2022, four months after the start of the war in Ukraine, the bid administration promised to limit the use of anti-personnel mines. At A change compared to the former Trump administration explained that there was a" need that the use of anti-personnel mines to reduce worldwide. " The United States announced not to develop or export anti -personnel mines and to reduce the existing stocks (with the exception of South Korea).

new mini types for Ukraine

The delivery of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine, especially just a few weeks before the end of the bid administration, represents an abrupt change in terms of long-term politics. The type of mines that the United States deliver to Ukraine is called "not persistent". This means that you have an internal mechanism to shorten the lifespan of the detonator. These mines are designed in such a way that they become inactive after a defined period that ranges from only four hours to two weeks. The mines use an electrical ignition that requires a battery and are inert when the battery is empty.

Russia's use of mines

Russia has used anti-person and anti-tank mines since the first days of the war. When the Russian troops penetrated into Ukraine and established their own lines of defense, they created Minefeld to slow down possible Ukrainian counterattacks. Last summer, when the Ukrainian armed forces started an ultimately unsuccessful counterattack, a Ukrainian official described the density of the Russian mines .