US President Joe Biden's administration will allow Ukraine to use US-sent landmines to delay of the Russian offensive, said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, quoted by the Associated Press.
Austin told reporters during a trip to Laos that the change in US landmine policy for Ukraine was a consequence of Russia's changing tactics.
Austin said Russian infantrymen are leading the action on the battlefield, instead of forces that are better protected in armored personnel carriers. Therefore, Ukraine “needs things that can slow down the efforts of the Russians”, the minister said.
The large Russian army is slowly advancing in the Donetsk region against the smaller Ukrainian army, AP points out.
Landmines have been criticized by NGOs and activists because they pose a long-term threat to civilians. Austin counters this thesis.
„The antipersonnel mines that we will provide will be antipersonnel mines that are not permanent. "We can control when they will self-activate and self-detonate, which makes them much safer than those who make them themselves," Austin said.
Permanent anti-personnel mines usually require batteries and therefore lose their ability to detonate over time. Thus, they become safer for civilians compared to those that remain deadly for years, the AP points out.
The US Secretary of Defense noted that Ukraine produces its own anti-personnel mines.
The US is already providing Ukraine with anti-tank mines. Russia routinely uses mines in war, but they do not become inert over time.