Aid groups express horror as US decides to send landmines to Ukraine

The US decision to send landmines to Ukraine is "not justifiable", aid groups have said, highlighting the long-term impact on civilians of the internationally banned weapons supposed to help slow Russia's advance.

Landmines "cannot distinguish between combatants and civilians", said Alma Taslidzan of aid group Handicap International on Wednesday, adding that they remain a danger to groups such as children and farmers for decades.

"In that sense, it's unethical to use landmines," added Taslidzan - herself originally from Bosnia, where "30 years after the war we still have massive contamination, even though millions of euros have been invested in the country for (mine) clearance".

The United States announced late on Tuesday that it would provide Ukraine with antipersonnel landmines to bolster its defences against Russian forces.

The US decision to send anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine - in a major policy shift - was triggered by a change in Russian battlefield tactics favouring infantry over mechanised units, US Defence Secretary Loyd Austin said on Wednesday.

"They don't lead with their mechanised forces anymore," Austin told reporters while on a visit to Laos. "They lead with dismounted forces who are able to close and do things to kind of pave the way for mechanized forces."

The Ukrainians "have a need for things that can help slow down that effort on the part of the Russians."

Zelenskyy hailed the decision on Wednesday, saying that US landmines are "very important to stop Russian assaults".

The mines are known as being "non-persistent" because they go inert after a set period of time, when their battery power runs out.

Antipersonnel mines are designed to be buried or hidden on the ground, exploding when a person approaches or touches them.

The weapons often mutilate victims who are not immediately killed.

'Non-persistent' weapons

Moscow's forces have made "extensive" use of anti-personnel mines on Ukrainian territory since their February 2022 attack, according to a report published on Wednesday by the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor.

At least 13 different types of anti-personnel mines have been laid by Russian troops, added the Monitor - a research body of the NGO network the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).

There is also "credible information" that Ukrainian forces have themselves used mines, it added.

"It is not justifiable to use these weapons, landmines, for short-term advantages that will have consequences on civilians years and decades after the conflict," Handicap International's Taslidzan said

The senior US official who announced the mine delivery to Ukraine said they would be "non-persistent" weapons, so called because the mines become inactive or self-destruct after a set period.

"These self-destructing mechanisms or self-deactivating mechanisms are not 100 percent reliable," Taslidzan said.

That means the munitions could explode themselves when civilians or mine clearance workers are nearby, she added.

What's more, the weapons supplied by the US will come from stockpiles that have sat on the shelf for decades, said Mary Wareham of Human Rights Watch.

Washington stopped using anti-personnel mines in 1991, halted exports in 1 992 and stopped manufacturing in 1997, Wareham pointed out.

That makes the weapons being delivered in 2024 "obsolete," as "the batteries embedded in the mines deteriorate with age," she argued, asking "How on Earth are these things going to even function correctly?".