WP: Biden approves anti-personnel mines for Ukraine, defying previous policy

US President Joe Biden has authorized the delivery of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine.

According to The Washington Post, citing two US officials, this decision is driven by concerns over a potential breakthrough by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, Caliber.Az reports.

The sources note that these mines will be deployed only in areas Washington recognizes as Ukrainian territory.

This move contradicts the Biden administration's previous policy, which, two years ago, decided to limit the use of anti-personnel mines, effectively discontinuing their use outside of the Korean Peninsula.

The publication reminded readers that Biden had criticized former President Donald Trump during his election campaign for lifting restrictions on the use of such mines, calling Trump’s decision reckless.

On the evening of November 18, Biden also authorized Ukraine's use of ATACMS missiles on Russian territory for the first time. The New York Times reported that the decision was made after Moscow allegedly engaged troops from North Korea in combat operations in the Kursk region. Washington had previously hesitated to take such a step due to concerns over escalating the conflict.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that on the night of November 19, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) struck a facility in the Bryansk region with six ATACMS missiles. The Ukrainian military acknowledged the strike on a Russian weapons depot near the town of Karachev but did not confirm the use of ATACMS. It was revealed the day before that President Biden had approved Ukraine’s use of US missiles to target Russian rear positions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the use of ATACMS.

According to the Russian military, the anti-missile battle resulted in the S-400 and Pantsir missile systems shooting down five ATACMS missiles, with one missile reportedly damaged. The Defense Ministry also claimed that fragments of the ATACMS missiles fell on the technical area of a military facility in Bryansk, sparking a fire, but stated that there were "no casualties or damage."

Later, when asked if Ukrainian forces had indeed hit a warehouse in the Bryansk region with US-supplied ATACMS missiles, President Zelenskyy responded: "We have long-range capabilities, we have long-range drones of our own production, we now have a long-range Neptun, and not just one. Now we have ATACMS. We're going to use all of that."

The Biden administration has provided Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in aid to counter Russian aggression. However, striking targets deep inside Russian territory has been a sensitive issue for President Biden, who has long been reluctant to authorize such actions due to fears of provoking a significant escalation from Moscow.

Biden’s critics have questioned whether it is right or legal to make such a significant and potentially risky decision just two months before leaving office.

In response, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stated that Joe Biden "was elected for a four-year term, not three years and 10 months," emphasizing that any decisions made during his term are legitimate.

"We will use every day of our term to implement policy steps that we believe are in the best interests of the American people," Miller said. "If the new administration wants to take a different viewpoint, that is certainly its right. There can only be one person in office at any given time. When the next president takes office, he will be able to make his own decisions."

By Tamilla Hasanova