A new decision likely to encourage escalation.
The United States will provide Ukraine with “non-persistent antipersonnel mines” (equipped with a self-destruct or self-deactivation device) to strengthen its defenses against the Russian invasion, a foreign official told AFP. senior American official.
Shortly after the media announcement, this Wednesday, November 20, the Kremlin accused Washington of wanting to “prolong the war” by strengthening its arms deliveries to kyiv.
“They are fully dedicated to prolonging the war in Ukraine and are doing everything they can to this end,” responded Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, while indicating that he could not confirm that Washington would provide Kiev with anti-personnel mines, a controversial type of weapon.
The International Campaign to Ban Antipersonnel Mines (ICBL) for its part denounced a “disastrous” decision by the United States.
“The ICBL condemns this disastrous decision by the United States […] Ukraine must make clear that it cannot and will accept these weapons,” the organization wrote in a statement.
The decision comes after the green light given on Sunday by President Joe Biden to Ukraine for the use against Russian territory of long-range missiles supplied by the United States.
