Facing battlefield setbacks, Ukraine withdraws from mine ban treaty

KYIV, July 8 ------ 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. Facing challenges in securing new U.S. supplies of artillery and munitions, or to recruit enough new soldiers to hold frontline positions, Kyiv announced its withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention.

Military analysts and a Ukrainian unit commander said that doing so could help slow the Russian advances Kyiv is struggling to contain over three years after Moscow's full-scale invasion. "Russia does not adhere to any conventions - so why should we?" Oleksiy, who gave only his first name in line with Ukrainian military requirements, said at a rehabilitation center for wounded service personnel in Kyiv. "We need to do this, because if we mine (our land) then there is then a chance that we won’t give it up."

Russia is not a party to the treaty, and military analysts, rights groups and Ukrainian soldiers say it has been using anti-personnel mines widely. Russia's Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Moscow has not confirmed it uses anti-personnel mines in Ukraine. Russian officials say Ukraine has already used such devices in the war.

The United States approved the provision of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine in November, Reuters has previously reported. At the time, U.S. officials said Ukraine was expected to use the U.S. mines on its own territory although it committed to not using them in areas populated with civilians. Russia holds about a fifth of Ukraine including Crimea, which it seized in 2014.

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. About a quarter of Ukraine is contaminated by mines or unexploded ordnance, the Defense Ministry's demining unit says.

Frontline areas and pockets of the Kursk region just inside Russia are thickly contaminated with the small devices which explode when triggered by contact, vibration or tripwires. Three military analysts said anti-personnel mines were a useful tool to counter Russia's emerging tactic of sending small assault squads, some riding on motorbikes, that are not stopped by other frontline fortifications. "When our side does not have much infantry on the front lines, creating a system of obstacles with these types of mines strengthens the defense - so that we do not rely solely on UAVs or artillery," said Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at Ukraine's National Institute for Strategic Studies, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles, better known as drones.

A bomb squad company commander from Ukraine's 59th brigade operating near the eastern city of Pokrovsk said a large rotary drone could be used to deploy up to 70 anti-personnel mines at a time. "They can effectively mine distant areas. And the enemy will take significant losses without even reaching our positions," said the commander, who uses the call-sign Voron. He did not say whether Ukraine was already deploying anti-personnel mines.

Source: reuters.com