Wed Nov 20 04:56:33 UTC 2024: ## Biden Approves Sending Anti-Personnel Mines to Ukraine Amidst Escalating Tensions with Russia
**Washington, D.C.** – In a significant policy shift, President Joe Biden has authorized the provision of anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine. This decision, reported by the Washington Post and confirmed by a US official to Reuters, marks a reversal of the administration’s previous reluctance to supply such weapons due to civilian casualty concerns.
The US insists the mines, described as “non-persistent” with self-destructing batteries, will be used solely within Ukrainian territory and will not be deployed in civilian areas. The move comes as Ukraine, for the first time, used US-supplied ATACMS missiles to strike targets inside Russia, following Biden’s recent approval for offensive use of advanced weaponry against Russian territory.
This escalation has triggered strong condemnation from Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the ATACMS strikes as a “qualitatively new phase” in the West’s war against Russia, vowing a corresponding response. Simultaneously, President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for using nuclear weapons, a decision criticized by the US, UK, and EU as reckless.
Further fueling the crisis, the Kremlin revealed that the long-established US-Russia hotline for preventing nuclear conflict is currently inactive. Russian officials are drawing parallels between the current situation and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, warning against underestimating Russia’s resolve in Ukraine. The US justification for providing the mines is to help stall the recent advances of Russian ground forces.
First Piper 