VIENTIANE, Laos — The Pentagon will send Ukraine anti-personnel land mines, a U.S. official said, in a response to what Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said were changing dynamics on the front lines.
“They’ve asked for these, and so I think it’s a good idea,” Austin said while speaking with a group of traveling reporters here.
The decision will proceed despite outcry from humanitarian groups, who argue that the weapons pose too high a risk to civilians. More than 100 countries have signed a treaty to ban their use, though the United States is not party to the agreement.
Austin said that Ukraine had pledged to use the mines in a way that would limit civilian casualties and that they would stay within Ukrainian territory. He also said that the specific mines being offered can detonate on command, making them less risky over time.
“They are electrically fused and require battery power to detonate. Once the battery runs out, they will not detonate,” a separate U.S. official wrote in a statement, noting they last between four hours and two weeks.
The secretary did not say whether the mines were in transit, though the U.S. official said they would be provided “soon.” The Pentagon announced a $275 million package of security aid Wednesday, including munitions, artillery and other equipment.
America has long provided anti-tank mines to Ukraine, though until now it wouldn’t send those designed to stop personnel.
The change in policy is a response to Russia’s tactics, Austin said. Rather than advancing with a vanguard of tanks and armored vehicles, Moscow’s troops are now fighting will smaller, more spread out squadrons.
“They have a need for things that can help slow down that effort,” Austin said of the Ukrainian military, which is losing territory at an increasing pace in the east.
North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia’s western region of Kursk, where Ukraine seized territory earlier this year in a surprise offensive.
Pentagon officials say that an attack from Russian and North Korean troops there will come soon.
Providing the mines is Washington’s second major policy change on Ukraine this week. Just days ago, officials gave permission to fire long-range American weapons into Russia, leeway Ukraine has wanted for months.
Allowing the anti-personnel mines is one of many policy reversals from the Biden administration on what weapons it sends Ukraine and how freely Ukraine can use them. That list includes weapons once withheld out of humanitarian concerns, like cluster munitions and depleted uranium rounds.
Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.