Western human rights organizations have condemned US President Joe Biden for supplying Ukraine with anti-personnel land mines, accusing the outgoing American leader of breaking his 2022 promise to restrict their use.
The move has sparked outrage, with lobbyists warning of the devastating and long-term impact of the weapons.
“Anti-personnel land mines are indiscriminate weapons that kill and maim civilians, and especially children, for generations after wars end,” Hichem Khadhraoui, executive director of the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), was quoted as saying by Politico. “These weapons cannot distinguish between civilians and combatants as required by international humanitarian law.”
“It is devastating, and frankly shocking, that President Biden made such a consequential and dangerous decision just before his public service legacy is sealed for the history books,” said Ben Linden, a senior official at Amnesty International USA.
Biden’s reversal comes amid mounting NATO concerns over Moscow’s battlefield gains in the Donbass, Kursk Region, and parts of Ukraine.
The mines, which are intended to slow Russian advances, have been described by US officials as “non-persistent.” Unlike traditional mines, they deactivate after their battery power depletes.
“They are electrically fused and require battery power to detonate. Once the battery runs out, they will not detonate,” said a US official, speaking anonymously to defend the White House’s decision.
Despite this reassurance, critics have argued that such safeguards do not eliminate the inherent risks. Almost 130,000 square kilometers of pre-2014 Ukraine – an area larger than England – already need to be cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance, according to Kiev’s own estimates.
Biden sent cluster munitions to Kiev in 2023, in another widely criticized move due to the weapons’ potential to harm civilians. The land mine approval marks a stark contrast to his 2022 policy restricting US use or transfer of anti-personnel mines, except on the Korean peninsula. That policy had reversed the decision by then-President Donald Trump to expand landmine use.
The White House has reportedly asked Ukraine to restrict the use of the mines to its own territory and avoid civilian areas. However, human rights groups remain skeptical of such assurances.
While over 160 countries have signed the 1997 Ottawa Treaty banning the production and transfer of anti-personnel mines, the US and Russia have not. Ukraine is a signatory to the 1997 deal, which means accepting Biden’s supplies is a violation of its treaty obligations. Biden’s decision, activists have warned, risks further normalizing landmine use in one of the world’s most heavily mined conflict zones.