Oleksiy, a 26-year-old Ukrainian soldier, is six months into a difficult recovery after losing most of his left leg to an anti-personnel mine. Despite his injuries, he says Ukraine is right to withdraw from a treaty banning such weapons.

Kyiv

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine has formally withdrawn from the Ottawa Convention, which bans the use of anti-personnel landmines, as it faces mounting challenges on the battlefield, including shortages of artillery and personnel. Ukrainian officials and military analysts argue that the move could help slow Russian advances, especially since Russia is not a party to the treaty and is reported to use such mines widely.

The decision has been condemned by anti-mine campaigners, who warn that increased deployment of anti-personnel mines could endanger civilians for years after the conflict. Ukraine maintains that it will use munitions responsibly and already has regulations in place for anti-vehicle mines, including mapping their locations. Russia has not commented on the issue, and both countries do not release casualty figures for their own soldiers.

Facing battlefield setbacks, Ukraine withdraws from mine ban treaty

This 26-year-old Ukrainian soldier is six months into a difficult recovery after losing most of his leg to an anti-personnel landmine. But despite Alexei's injuries, he said Ukraine is right to withdraw from a treaty banning such weapons. At a rehabilitation center for wounded service personnel in Kiev, he said Russia does not adhere to any conventions, so why should we? Facing challenges in securing new U.S. supplies of artillery and munitions and not enough new recruits to hold the frontline positions, Kiev announced its withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines on June 29th. Military analysts and a Ukrainian unit commander said that doing so could help slow the Russian advances Kiev is struggling to contain over three years after Moscow's full-scale invasion. Alexei, who gave only his first name in line with Ukrainian military requirements, said the potential reward of mines stopping Russian advances was worth the risks involved in deploying them. Alexei set off a mine while defending a patch of forest in territory Ukraine held in Russia's Kursk region at the time. He did not say who set the mine. Russia is not party to the treaty, and military analysts, rights groups and Ukrainian soldiers say it has been using anti-personnel mines widely. Ukraine's defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment on whether it already deploys such munitions, their battlefield usefulness and criticism of the move. Ukraine widely uses anti-vehicle mines not covered by the treaty. Anti-mine campaigners condemned Ukraine's decision to exit the treaty, following the example of five other European nations bordering Russia. The move opens the way to Ukraine increasing the deployment of a munition that can maim civilians including children long after conflict subsides. The director of the international campaign to ban landmines, Tamar Gavelnik, told Reuters that Kiev's decision would put civilians at risk for years. Why would Ukraine want to copy the military tactics, the abusive, horrible military tactics of their enemy? Why would they want to stoop down to that level? Self-defense is obviously needed, obviously we want the best and the strongest possible defense for Ukraine, but this is not the way to do it. Mines that kill 85% of the victims are civilians. It's not the way to ensure the safety of Ukrainians. Russia's defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Moscow has not confirmed it uses anti-personnel mines in Ukraine. Ukraine however, said in July 2024 that nearly 300 Ukrainian civilians had been killed and over 1,000 others wounded by Russian mines. Neither country releases casualty figures for their own soldiers. Lawmaker Fedor Vyacheslavsky said the armed forces would use the munitions responsibly and that Ukraine has regulations on the use of anti-vehicle mines, including mapping their locations.

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Facing battlefield setbacks, Ukraine withdraws from mine ban treaty

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