“The statement said antipersonnel mines are inherently “indiscriminate weapons that maim and kill civilians.””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“It is deeply disappointing that a president who once accepted that landmines put more civilians at increased risk. It is devastating and, frankly, shocking that President Biden would make such a risky and dangerous decision just before his public service will go down in history,” said Ben Linden, Advocacy Director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International USA.
The statement said antipersonnel mines are inherently “indiscriminate weapons that maim and kill civilians long after conflicts have ended and should have no place in any country’s arsenal.”
Amnesty International is calling on the Biden administration to reconsider the decision “to protect civilians from the indiscriminate harm that the use of these landmines will inevitably cause.”
Read also: The Pentagon explained why the US decided to provide Ukraine with anti-personnel mines for the first time
The day before, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the decision to send anti-personnel mines to Ukraine for the first time was motivated by a change in Russia’s tactics at the front, as Russian troops advance with the help of infantry, which is able to pave the way for mechanized troops.
Austin emphasized that these antipersonnel mines “are not permanent. We can control when they self-activate, self-detonate, and that makes them much safer than what they are (Ukraine – ed.) create independently.”
Earlier, The Washington Post, with reference to its sources, reported that US President Joe Biden authorized the provision of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine. The use of mines will be limited to the territory of Ukraine, with an expected emphasis on its eastern part, one of the officials said.
The Biden administration is deeply concerned about Russia’s offensive actions on the front lines in Ukraine in recent weeks and sees an urgent need to stop them, officials said. The Pentagon believes providing the mines is one of the most helpful steps the Biden administration can take to slow Russia’s attack, officials said.
The Russian army uses anti-personnel mines during the war against Ukraine. After the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022, Ukraine became one of the most mined countries in the world.