Explained: Why US handed over landmines to Ukraine in big policy shift

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

“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 mechanised forces.”

The announcement made on Wednesday points to a major policy shift, which has been slammed by rights groups.

President Joe Biden’s reversal of his previous curbs on US landmines comes just days after Washington gave Ukraine the green light to use US-made long-range missiles on targets within Russia, a longstanding ask from Kyiv.

The outgoing US administration is aiming to give Ukraine an upper hand before President-elect Donald Trump enters office.

Trump has repeatedly criticised US assistance for Ukraine, claiming he could secure a ceasefire within hours, without explaining details.

His comments have triggered fears in Kyiv and Europe about Ukraine’s ability to withstand Russian attacks without US support.

In 2022, Biden said that the United States would mostly ban its use of landmines, at the time specifically drawing a contrast with Russia’s use of the weapons in Ukraine.

Both Russia and the United States — neither of which are signatories to the UN Mine Ban Treaty — have been criticised for using anti-personnel mines in the past.

However, Ukraine is a signatory of the treaty. A report from the International Campaign to Ban Landmines on Wednesday said that Kyiv was investigating the reported use of anti-personnel mines by its soldiers in 2022, in violation of the treaty.

The United States said that Ukraine would be supplied with so-called “non-persistent” mines that can self-destruct or render themselves inactive after losing battery charge — in theory limiting the risk to civilians.

“Within two weeks, if they have not been detonated, they become inert,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

The landmines will be provided as part of a larger tranche of aid being supplied to Ukraine valued at $275 million, which also includes HIMARS rocket ammunition, TOW missiles, and small arms.

Both Moscow and Kyiv are jockeying to secure battlefield advantage before Trump assumes office in January.

Kyiv recently fired long-range, US-supplied ATACMS missiles at Russian territory for the first time.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree lowering the threshold for when Russia could use nuclear weapons.

Laos, where Austin made his comments, is still recovering from heavy US bombing during the Vietnam War.

More than 20,000 people have been killed or injured from unexploded ordnance in the half-century since, according to The Halo Trust, a de-mining group.