President Joe Biden on Wednesday approved supplying antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine, in yet another major policy shift from the outgoing president. Mines are banned in most countries because they often maim and kill civilians, but Ukraine says they’re needed to halt Russian advances.
The landmines decision comes as Ukraine has also begun using long-range missiles from the US and UK to hit targets inside Russia for the first time, after getting long-awaited permission from Washington and London. Moscow has warned that this could escalate the war. On Tuesday, Putin signed a revised nuclear doctrine that permits him to use atomic weapons in response to conventional strikes by any country “supported” by a nuclear power.
These last-ditch efforts to boost Ukraine are a response to steady Russian advances, North Korean forces joining the fight on Moscow’s behalf, and mounting anxiety across Ukraine and the West about the return of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has questioned US aid for Kyiv and promised to end the war quickly.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly open to ceasefire talks, but would insist on major conditions currently unacceptable to Ukraine — including formally ceding vast swathes of Eastern Ukraine to Russia, and ending Kyiv’s NATO ambitions.