Nov 19 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden has approved provision of anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine, a U.S. official told Reuters, a step that could help slow Russian advances in its east, especially when used along with other munitions from the United States.

The United States expects Ukraine to use the mines in its own territory, though it has committed not to use them in areas populated with its own civilians, the official said. The Washington Post first reported the development.

The office of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian defence ministry, the Russian defence ministry and the Kremlin did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests to comment.

The United States has provided Ukraine with anti-tank mines throughout its war with Russia, but the addition of anti-personnel mines aims at blunting the advance of Russian ground troops, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

      • PugJesus@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        21 hours ago

        Working to ban something means it’s a crime against humanity. Great. Alright.

        • dwalin@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          19 hours ago

          Thats how crimes against humanity work. People find it so abhorrent they sign a treaty.

        • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          3
          ·
          20 hours ago

          No. Got the order wrong. People are working to ban them because they’re atrocious. They’re not atrocious because people are working to ban them. Don’t pretend to be even more obtuse than you already are.

          They’re atrocious because they can make areas dangerous for anyone to traverse for years if not decades, blowing the limbs off of innocent civilians or making large swaths of land uninhabitable and unavailable to farm without risking death and dismemberment.

          • PugJesus@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            4
            ·
            20 hours ago

            They’re atrocious because they can make areas dangerous for anyone to traverse for years if not decades, blowing the limbs off of innocent civilians or making large swaths of land uninhabitable and unavailable to farm without risking death and dismemberment.

            So like all UXO that’s indiscriminately used?

            • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              3
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              20 hours ago

              Yes. “Indiscriminately” being the operative word.

              Russians butchering civilians doesn’t make it ok for Ukraine to emulate them.

              • PugJesus@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                3
                arrow-down
                1
                ·
                edit-2
                20 hours ago

                Yes. “Indiscriminately” being the operative word.

                See? I agree. Landmines should not be used indiscriminately. Luckily, Ukraine has already pledged to not use them in civilian areas, and landmine protocols are a far fucking cry from the Vietnam era, so we’re good.

                Glad to see we’re all on the same page of not demanding that victims meekly submit to genocide in the name of some nebulous and ill-defined moral high ground.

                How many thousands of Ukranian lives are worth not using landmines to you? Tens of thousands?

                • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  2
                  arrow-down
                  2
                  ·
                  20 hours ago

                  See? I agree. Landmines should not be used indiscriminately

                  That’s like saying that guns shouldn’t be used violently 🙄

                  The nature of landmines is that of an indiscriminate and long lasting danger. Do you really think that, once the war is one and it’s time for civilians to move back to the areas that war has displaced them from, Ukraine is going to dig them all up again?

                  Because if you do, I have an explosion-proof bridge to Crimea to sell you.

                  Glad to see we’re all on the same page of not demanding that victims meekly submit to genocide in the name of some nebulous and ill-defined moral high ground.

                  Holy false dichotomy, Batman! Not meekly submitting ≠ doing the same things that you rightly deplore your enemy for doing.

                  This is some “Dresden, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki were all great” type nonsense.

                  Ukraine has already pledged to not use them in civilian areas

                  Oh they promised, did they? What a relief!

                  It’s not like politicians and diplomats who know that they’ll retain the support of the richest countries in the world no matter what would ever break a promise that they made in order to get something that they want!

                  Just like how Israel has always told the truth to American politicians!

                  • PugJesus@lemmy.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    arrow-up
                    3
                    arrow-down
                    1
                    ·
                    edit-2
                    20 hours ago

                    The nature of landmines is that of an indiscriminate and long lasting danger. Do you really think that, once the war is one and it’s time for civilians to move back to the areas that war has displaced them from, Ukraine is going to dig them all up again?

                    Yes, that’s literally what fucking happens. Planned UXO operations are already going to take decades because of all the mines that Russia has laid, including in civilian areas, but I’m sure that you’re just really concerned about Ukraine’s post-war UXO situation becoming worse by (checks notes) Ukraine laying mines it itself has recorded in non-civilian areas.

                    This is some “Dresden, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki were all great” type nonsense.

                    Ah, the “Blockading Japan and having millions starve is the moral high ground” option.

                    Dresden was bad because it did not have commensurate military value to the civilian destruction it caused, and bomber command was well aware of that.

                    Oh they promised, did they? What a relief!

                    Oh, so we’re going on the assumption that Ukraine doesn’t care about their own post-war situation despite all of their actions thus far pointing towards the exact opposite?

                    Cool cool cool. Very paternalistic mindset, glad we’re still doing the “Noble Western Savior” thing in telling countries being genocided how exactly they’re allowed to defend themselves and accusing them of being savages if they disagree.