The Pentagon said the administration has approved transfers of non-persistent landmines, ‘which become inert after a preset period of time.’
President Joe Biden’s administration has granted permission for the use of anti-personnel landmines in Ukraine, marking a policy shift just weeks before Biden leaves office.
The United States has provided Ukraine with anti-tank mines throughout its war with Russia but has opposed the use of smaller anti-personnel devices.
In a June 2022 policy announcement, the Biden administration committed to limiting the use of anti-personnel mines and vowed not to export such weapons “except when necessary for activities related to mine detection or removal, and for the purpose of destruction.”
In an emailed statement, a Pentagon spokesperson announced the decision approving such weapons for Ukraine.
The anti-personnel landmines could help slow Russian advances across Ukraine, but the move also raises concerns that civilians may be harmed if they stumble across an area booby-trapped with such weapons.
The Pentagon spokesperson said the landmines provided would be specialized non-persistent anti-personnel landmines that become inert after a preset period.
The spokesperson said the Ukrainian forces have also committed to not deploy these weapons in areas populated by civilians.
The new stance on anti-personnel mines comes just days after the Biden administration reversed course on another policy that had barred the use of U.S.-donated weapons for long-range strikes inside Russian territory.
