Russia has accused Ukraine of repeatedly using banned anti-personnel mines that have injured civilians, saying Kyiv’s decision to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention prohibiting such weapons would have no impact on the battlefield.
Ukraine announced last month that it was pulling out of the international treaty, formally known as the Mine Ban Treaty, citing the need to counter Russian tactics in the 40-month-old war. The convention, which bans the production, stockpiling, and use of anti-personnel mines, has long been hailed as a cornerstone of global arms control efforts.
Moscow, which is not a party to the treaty, said Ukraine’s withdrawal was meaningless given that, according to Russia, Kyiv had already been violating the terms of the convention for years.
“The use of anti-personnel mines by the Kyiv regime against civilians is regularly recorded by our law enforcement agencies,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Wednesday. “Ukraine’s decision to withdraw from the mechanism… fits into the general course of the collective West and its satellites to revise and undermine the international legal system in the field of arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation.”
Zakharova argued that Ukraine’s move violates the spirit of the Ottawa Convention, noting that under the treaty’s text, withdrawal during an armed conflict should not take effect until the conflict has ended.
“The decision to withdraw from the convention comes into force only after the end of the said armed conflict,” she said. “We proceed from the fact that this provision is fully applicable to the withdrawal process launched by Ukraine from this mechanism.”
She also claimed that Ukraine had already failed to comply with the convention well before its formal withdrawal. “The obligations of the Convention were not fulfilled by Kyiv even before the aforementioned decision,” Zakharova said. “Ukraine was supposed to destroy all stocks of anti-personnel mines back in 2010 but did not.”
Ukraine, for its part, has accused Russia of extensive landmine use throughout the conflict and said its withdrawal from the treaty is a necessary measure in response to Moscow’s actions.
Meanwhile, officials from Lithuania and Finland, both NATO members bordering Russia, said they were preparing to begin domestic production of anti-personnel mines next year to bolster their own defences and supply Ukraine. Both countries have announced plans to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, with production of mines expected to begin once the mandatory six-month withdrawal process is completed.
Lithuania and Finland argue that the decision is driven by what they perceive as the growing military threat from Russia. Moscow, however, has dismissed those fears as baseless.
Russia has repeatedly denied any intention to attack a NATO member, describing such claims as Russophobic “nonsense” promoted by European governments to justify soaring defence spending.
Boluwatife Enome
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