U.S. to provide anti-personnel mines to Ukraine, official says
A U.S. official confirmed to CBS News late Tuesday that the Biden administration will provide controversial anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Anti-personnel mines (APL) are designed to target people, not vehicles. The official said they can be deployed quickly and are designed to weaken ground force advances so that they can contribute to Ukraine’s defense against Russian advances in eastern Ukraine.
The U.S. asked Ukraine to commit to using the mines to further limit risks to civilians, the official said, noting Ukraine’s commitment not to use the mines in areas of the country where civilians live.
Officials say the U.S.-supplied anti-personnel mines, unlike the thousands used by Russia in eastern Ukraine, are “non-persistent,” meaning they remain active for a preset period of time, usually four hours to two weeks. between) become inert. explain. They are electrically fuzed and require battery power to detonate. Once the battery is depleted, they won’t explode.
Tuesday marks 1,000 days since Russia invaded Ukraine. CBS News learned Sunday that President Biden Restriction removed Ukraine uses U.S. weapons to carry out deep strikes inside Russia.
ATACMS provided by USA Use on Tuesday Targets in Russia were targeted, U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News.
Ukraine was one of the Countries with the most landmines Since the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine has been inundated with anti-personnel mines. They are called seemingly innocent names like “butterfly” or “petal” mines because they scatter like petals when they fall from the sky.
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“Typically, there would be hundreds of these mines scattered throughout the territory at a time,” Pete Smith, Ukraine program manager for HALO Trust, a nonprofit focused on eliminating mines in war zones, told 60 Minutes said during the interview. August. “They can rest on rooftops. They can sit in gutters. It can take years for them to return to society and be visible.”
To date, 164 countries, including Ukraine, have signed the agreement mine ban treaty Use of APL is prohibited. But more than three dozen countries, including Russia and the United States, have yet to agree
In January 2020, then-President Donald Trump reversed an Obama-era policy banning the use of anti-personnel landmines anywhere outside the Korean Peninsula. However, in June 2022, Mr. Biden Restored The ban excludes anti-personnel mines “necessary for the defense of the Republic of Korea.”
contributed to this report.
