Rights groups ask Biden to reverse ‘reprehensible’ move to send antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine

US president makes controversial decision just two months before he is set to exit White House

Human rights groups have slammed Joe Biden’s decision to send antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine, calling it a “reckless move” endangering innocent civilian lives.

The US president greenlighted providing antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine on Wednesday, two months before he is set to exit the White House.

Senior US officials backed the delivery to stall Russian progress on the Ukrainian battlefield where Russia’s troops are moving in smaller ground units along the frontline.

“They have asked for these, and so I think it’s a good idea,” defence secretary Lloyd Austin said.

Amnesty International described it as “a reckless decision and a deeply disappointing setback for a president who once agreed that landmines put more civilians at increased risk of harm”. “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,” Ben Linden, advocacy director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty USA, said.

The antipersonnel mines that the US is sending reportedly have a limited capacity and can be offset over time. The “nonpersistent mines”, as they are called, are electrically fused and powered by batteries. They won’t detonate once the battery runs out, and can become inert in anywhere from four hours to two weeks.

But Amnesty said that even nonpersistent mines are a threat to civilians. “Antipersonnel landmines are inherently indiscriminate weapons that maim and kill civilians long after conflicts end and should not have a place in the arsenal of any country,” Mr Linden said.

Mr Biden’s decision has even drawn condemnation from Ukraine’s allies in Europe. Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eide called it “very problematic” because Kyiv is a signatory to an international convention opposing the use of landmines.

The use of antipersonnel landmines, as ground ammunition, has been rejected by at least 164 countries, including all Nato members and Ukraine, under the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. The agreement prohibits these countries from using, stockpiling, producing, and transferring antipersonnel mines.

The mines, placed underground, are known to explode indiscriminately upon coming in contact with any motion, making it difficult for rescue workers and emergency service personnel to carry out relief work.

The Mine Ban Treaty states that it is “determined to put an end to the suffering and casualties caused by antipersonnel mines that kill or maim hundreds of people every week, mostly innocent and defenceless civilians and especially children”.

The US has not used antipersonnel landmines since 1991, except for the use of a single munition in 2002. It has not exported them since 1992 and not produced them since 1997.

“President Biden’s decision to transfer antipersonnel landmines risks civilian lives and sets back international efforts to eradicate these indiscriminate weapons,” said Mary Wareham, deputy crisis, conflict and arms director at Human Rights Watch.

“The US should reverse this reprehensible decision, which only increases the risk of civilian suffering in the short and long term.”