Departing before Donald Trump takes office in January, Joe Biden's administration recently authorized Ukraine to strike on Russian territory with American-made long-range missiles, a red line for Moscow.
And on Wednesday, a senior American official announced to AFP that Washington was preparing to supply Ukraine with antipersonnel mines, a type of weapon widely criticized by NGOs for the number of civilian victims it causes, including understood long after the end of the conflicts. But this weapon could help slow down the advance of Russian troops, which is accelerating in the East.
The United States “is fully committed to prolonging the war in Ukraine and is doing everything it can to this end,” criticized Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov, without being able to confirm these mine deliveries.
According to the American official, the mines supplied to Ukraine will be “non-persistent”, that is to say equipped with a self-destruction or self-deactivation device. They are intended to strengthen Ukrainian defense at a time when its troops are retreating on the front.
An anti-mine organization, the ICBL – winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 – condemned a “disastrous decision by the United States” and called on Ukraine to refuse to use this type of weapon.
– Nuclear rhetoric –
This announcement comes as the number of victims of mines and unexploded ordnance is increasing around the world, according to the annual report of the specialized organization “Landmine Observatory”. Ukraine is already the most mined country on the planet, according to the UN.
Buried or hidden on the ground, antipersonnel mines explode when a person approaches or comes into contact with them, often causing mutilation if not death.
Russia had already accused Ukraine's Western allies on Tuesday of seeking to “escalate” the conflict, after a first Ukrainian strike on its territory using American long-range ATACMS missiles.
She claimed to have destroyed five projectiles that targeted military installations in the Bryansk region, bordering Ukraine, and promised an “appropriate response” to these shots which once again led Moscow to use nuclear discourse.
According to its new doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons, made official on Tuesday, Russia can now use them in the event of a “massive” attack by a non-nuclear country but supported by a nuclear power, a clear reference to Ukraine and in the United States.
This change “de facto excludes the possibility of defeating the Russian armed forces on the battlefield”, underlined Wednesday the head of Russian foreign intelligence, Sergei Naryshkin, suggesting that Russia would resort to the atomic bomb rather than risk defeat in a conventional war.
Washington, Paris, London and the European Union have denounced an “irresponsible” attitude. Ukraine urged its allies “not to give in to fear.”
French President Emmanuel Macron denounced on the sidelines of the G20 summit an “escalatory” posture of Russia, which he called “to reason”.
China, Moscow's crucial partner accused of participating in its military effort, for its part called on “all parties” to be “calm” and “restraint”.
On the ground, the Russian army continues to advance, claiming on Wednesday the capture of a new locality on the eastern front, near Kurakhové, while strikes continued in Ukraine as in Russia during the night.
The Ukrainian capital, kyiv, and the country's second city, Kharkiv, in the northeast, were targeted by drones and missiles, without causing significant damage or casualties, the air force announced.
The United States embassy in kyiv warned on Wednesday of a “possible significant air attack” on Ukraine, without further details, while the country already faces daily, often massive, Russian attacks.
The last of these massive strikes, on Sunday, once again targeted the Ukrainian energy system, causing power cuts.
On the Russian side, the Ministry of Defense reported having shot down around fifty Ukrainian drones over several regions including Moscow.
Russia is itself accused of escalation, having, according to kyiv and the West, now the support of at least 10,000 North Korean soldiers. North Korea would also supply large quantities of shells and missiles.
According to South Korean intelligence, Pyongyang has delivered new shipments of artillery systems and multiple rocket launchers to Russia.
