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The United States claims that the antipersonnel landmines sent to Ukraine since this Wednesday are “safer,” but it is no coincidence that dozens of countries have classified them as banned weapons for more than 25 years. The American green light for the use of this type of weaponry by the Ukrainian army was revealed by an unidentified source to the France-Presse news agency on Tuesday night and was confirmed shortly afterwards by the American Secretary of Defense, Lloyd. Austin. Speaking with journalists from Laos.

Austin claims that the change in arms supply policy follows the change in Russian tactics. In other words, if Russian ground troops are in the lead on the battlefield, Ukraine has “a need for tools that can help curb Russian offensive efforts.”

The decision to send antipersonnel mines came hours after Pentagon sources said the United States would send new weapons worth $275 million (€260 million) to Ukraine, before Donald Trump takes over the US presidency on January 20, 2025.

What are antipersonnel landmines?

Landmines, in general, are explosive devices hidden in the ground, designed to detonate when something or someone approaches or steps on the device. Anti-tank mines are designed to destroy armored vehicles, while anti-personnel mines are created with the aim of target soldiers traveling on foot.

This type of mines, as Veja magazine highlights, can be used in different circumstances in a war scenario: to protect critical installations, prepare an ambush or even with the aim of changing the route of enemy forces. They are usually placed in the ground manually, but can also be spread by military aircraft or rockets or by specialized land vehicles.

US to supply antipersonnel mines to Ukraine, government official says

According to the US Secretary of Defense, the land mines that will begin to arrive in Ukraine “are not persistent.” “We can control when they activate and detonate on their own and that would make them much safer. Safer than possibly other weapons they are creating on their own. [na Ucrânia]Lloyd Austin alleged.

Antipersonnel mines have been banned in more than 150 countries since 1997.

Antipersonnel landmines have been criticized for several decades by non-governmental organizations and individual activists for representing a persistent threat against civilians. A landmine of this type can be activated, by touch, by anyone, since the device does not have the ability to identify whether the person stepping on it is a soldier or a civilian. Furthermore, after armed conflicts, unactivated mines are often left behind, increasing the likelihood that they will be activated by civilians who are unaware of their existence in a given location.

On the other hand, when they are not removed and there is suspicion or evidence that they undermine a certain portion of the territory, they can cause the forced displacement of the civilian population, hinder the provision of humanitarian aid and prevent agricultural exploitation in large areas.

Antipersonnel mines were prohibited by the Ottawa Conventionsigned in 1997 by 133 countries, including Portugal. Currently, there are 164 countries signing the treaty. The text of the convention highlights that this type of weaponry has caused “great suffering” for decades and that “it continues to kill and injure civilians and bystanders long after the end of conflicts.”

The treaty completely bans antipersonnel mines and requires countries to destroy their stockpiles, clear mine-affected areas, and provide assistance to victims.

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“Since its creation more than two decades ago, the Convention has caused a virtual paralysis of the global production of antipersonnel mines and a drastic reduction in their deployment. More than 40 million stockpiled mines were destroyed and assistance was provided to survivors and populations living in affected areas,” highlights the United Nations (UN).

The United States and Russia are two of the countries. non-petitioners of the convention. Ukraine, which was on the verge of using antipersonnel mines in the face of Russian aggression, signed the treaty in 1999.

In June 2022, President Joe Biden set the United States’ goal of acceding to the treaty and realigning U.S. policy with most of the treaty’s key prohibitions. The intention has not produced any effect to this day. This after in January 2020, then-president and current president-elect Donald Trump canceled a policy that would have eliminated all antipersonnel mines from the US arsenal.

Myanmar leads the list of countries with the highest number of antipersonnel mine victims in 2023

Precisely this Wednesday, the day on which the shipment and respective authorization of the use of US antipersonnel mines to Ukraine became known, Human Rights Watch released the report Landmine Monitor 2024. The document highlights the use of this type of mines by countries in conflict, such as Russia and Myanmar. “The new use of antipersonnel mines by countries that have not acceded [à convenção] “threatens both the lives of civilians and the effectiveness of this life-saving treaty,” the report reads.

In 2023, there were at least 5,757 new victims caused by landmines and explosive remnants of war in 53 countries. Civilians accounted for 84% of all casualties recorded last year, while children accounted for 37% of that total.

According to Human Rights Watch, Russia has repeatedly used antipersonnel landmines in Ukraine since its large-scale invasion of the country on February 24, 2022, causing hundreds of casualties and vast expanses of contaminated land.

Already the burma military They have used this type of mines continuously since 1999. In 2023, for the first time, the country tops the list of countries with the highest number of victims caused by this type of weaponry. These mines killed or injured 1,003 people last year in the country. Previously, Syria had the highest number of annual casualties for three consecutive years.

Reports indicate that the Iranian government’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and North Korea also frequently used antipersonnel mines during 2023 and the first half of 2024.