Biden Admin Reverses Policy, Approves Anti-Personnel Mines for Ukraine

Ukrainian soldiers preparing to place anti-tank landmines and non-explosive obstacles along the front line near Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Oct. 30, 2024. Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukrainian 24th Mechanised Brigade via AP

President Joe Biden’s administration has granted permission for the use of anti-personnel landmines in Ukraine, marking a policy shift within just weeks of leaving office.

The United States has provided Ukraine with anti-tank mines throughout its war with Russia but has opposed the use of smaller anti-personnel devices.

In a June 2022 policy announcement, the Biden administration committed to limiting the use of anti-personnel mines and vowed not to export such weapons “except when necessary for activities related to mine detection or removal, and for the purpose of destruction.”

In an emailed statement a Pentagon spokesperson announced the decision approving such weapons for Ukraine.

The anti-personnel landmines could help slow Russian advances across Ukraine, but the move also raises concerns that civilians may be harmed if they stumble across an area booby-trapped with such weapons.

The Pentagon spokesperson said the landmines provided would be specialized non-persistent anti-personnel landmines that become inert after a preset period.

The spokesperson said the Ukrainian forces have also committed to not deploy these weapons in areas populated by civilians.

The new stance on anti-personnel mines comes just days after the Biden administration reversed course on another policy that had barred the use of U.S.-donated weapons for long-range strikes inside Russian territory.

Washington hasn’t officially confirmed that it has permitted Ukraine to now conduct long-range strikes on Russia, but the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on Nov. 19 that Ukrainian forces had fired at least six U.S.-made MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) ballistic missiles at its Bryansk region.

The moves to free up weapons for Ukraine and relax the rules around their use could escalate the conflict, which is nearing on four years in duration.

The United States closed its embassy in Kyiv on Nov. 20 and advised Americans in Ukraine to seek shelter after receiving “specific information of a potential significant air attack.”

The possibility of a direct confrontation between the United States and Russia could prove an early challenge for President-elect Donald Trump.

Trump has signaled he prefers to quickly negotiate an end to the conflict once he takes office in January.

Following Trump’s win in the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, the Biden administration signaled its intent to ramp up support for Ukraine as much as possible before Biden’s term ends.

U.S. President Joe Biden (R) and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) meet at the Intercontinental Hotel in Paris on June 7, 2024. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Speaking with reporters at a Nov. 7 press briefing, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the administration is speeding up arms transfers to Ukraine under the presidential drawdown authority, while also working to prepare new loans for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian sovereign assets.

“We are working to get all of it out of the door, all of the drawdown authority, out of the door to Ukraine before the end of this term,” Miller said.

“And when it comes to the sovereign assets, we have also made clear that we’re trying to operationalize that money as well before the end of the term.”

On Nov. 20, the Pentagon announced another arms package for Ukraine under the presidential drawdown authority, valued at about $275 million.

The package includes unspecified “ammunition” for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); a missile launcher system that can fire a variety of rockets and missiles, including the longer-ranged ATACMS ballistic missile.

The new arms package also includes 155mm and 105mm artillery shells; 60mm and 81mm mortar rounds; Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) anti-tank missiles; Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems; small arms and ammunition; demolitions munitions and equipment; chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear protective equipment; and a variety of other spare parts and ancillary equipment.