Latest news with #MineBanTreaty
Newsweek
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Ukrainian President Moves to Withdraw From Ottawa Convention: What to Know
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday signed a decree to withdraw the country from the Ottawa Convention, an international treaty that bans the use and stockpiling of antipersonnel landmines, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) confirmed on Sunday. The decree comes after more than three years since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. When asked for additional comment on Sunday morning, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred Newsweek to its website post. Why It Matters Antipersonnel mines are designed to use against humans rather than tanks or military vehicles and cannot distinguish between civilians and combatants. As they are hidden and often scattered, the mines often maim or kill civilians long after fighting has ended. The announcement comes the same day as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries scrambled fighter jets, according to the Polish military, after a Ukrainian official said Moscow had launched its largest-scale air attack on the country in more than three years. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its Eastern European neighbor, with the conflict resulting in significant loss of life, international sanctions on Moscow, and a protracted humanitarian crisis. Russia previously annexed Crimea in 2014. What To Know Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a statement on its official website that said "Ukraine has made the difficult but necessary political decision to stop the implementation of irrelevant obligations under the Ottawa Convention." The ministry's post continued stating that Russia's "armed aggression" has made Ukraine, and other nearby countries "reassess their positions and adopt a joint political decision to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention." In March, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland announced their intention to withdraw from the treaty, while Finland's parliament voted to do so in June. On Friday, Lithuania's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kęstutis Budrys, confirmed in an X, formerly Twitter, post that the country has "formally notified the UN Secretary-General of its withdrawal from the Mine Ban Treaty." Ukraine's statement and move to withdraw came just hours after Ukrainian authorities said Russia had launched 477 drones and decoys, as well as 60 missiles of various types, at Kyiv overnight. The country's air force said it had shot down 211 drones with another 225 straying before hitting their targets. Air defenses intercepted one of the short-range ballistic missiles, four of the Kalibr cruise missiles and 33 Kh-101 missiles, according to the military. The attacks into Sunday were the largest airstrikes on Ukraine of more than three years of full-scale war in the country in terms of number of incoming threats, Colonel Yuriy Ignat, an official with Ukraine's Air Force, confirmed to Newsweek. A residential building after a Russian drone attack in Odesa on June 28 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A residential building after a Russian drone attack in Odesa on June 28 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. OLEKSANDR GIMANOV/AFP via Getty Images What Is the Ottawa Convention? The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, better known as the Ottawa Convention or Mine Ban Treaty, went into effect in 1999. More than 160 countries had signed onto the treaty over the years, with Ukraine having ratified it in 2005. Neither Russia nor the United States is a party to the treaty. What People Are Saying Russia's Defense Ministry said in a June 29 statement on Telegram: "At night, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation delivered a mass strike by air-, ground-, and sea-based long-range precision weaponry, the Kindzhal hypersonic aero-ballistic missile system as well as unmanned aerial vehicles at Ukrainian defense industry and oi-refining enterprises." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in an X, formerly Twitter, post on June 29: "Almost all night long, air raid alerts sounded across Ukraine — 477 drones were in our skies, most of them Russian-Iranian Shaheds, along with 60 missiles of various types. The Russians were targeting everything that sustains life. A residential building in Smila was also hit, and a child was injured. Emergency services are responding wherever they're needed." Roman Kostenko, the People's Deputy of Ukraine, wrote in a Sunday Facebook post, "This is a step that the reality of war has long demanded. Russia is not a side of this convention and massively applies mines against our military and civilian. We cannot stay bound when the enemy has no limitations." What Happens Next Zelensky's signature to withdraw now advances the measure to the Ukrainian parliament, which will vote on the matter. If approved, then the country must notify the United Nations.
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First Post
12 hours ago
- Politics
- First Post
Zelenskyy set to pull Ukraine out of Ottawa Convention treaty: What is it?
More than 160 countries are parties to the treaty, including most Nato members and European states. Major powers like the United States, Russia, and China have not signed it read more President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday (June 29) signed a decree initiating Ukraine's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention or the Mine Ban Treaty, citing the urgent demands of national defense amid Russia's ongoing invasion. Ukraine's foreign ministry said the decision was 'difficult but necessary,' describing it as a response to Russia's extensive use of landmines against both military personnel and civilians. 'I hereby decree… to put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine dated June 29, 2025 on Ukraine's withdrawal' from the landmark convention, Zelenskyy said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Russia… uses mines against our military and civilians on a massive scale. We cannot remain bound by conditions when the enemy has no restrictions,' a Ukrainian lawmaker, Roman Kostenko, said on social media. What is the Ottawa Convention? The Ottawa Convention, formally known as the Mine Ban Treaty, is an international agreement that prohibits the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines. Signed in 1997, it aims to eliminate weapons that often remain lethal long after conflicts end. Mines banned under the treaty are designed to explode when triggered by the presence, proximity, or contact of a person, causing indiscriminate harm. More than 160 countries are parties to the treaty, including most Nato members and European states. Major powers like the United States, Russia, and China have not signed it. Human rights organisations have condemned plans by Ukraine and several of its allies to exit the treaty. Critics warn that such withdrawals could weaken a decades-long global consensus to limit weapons that disproportionately harm civilians. Kyiv's decision comes after similar moves or considerations by Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia — all of which share borders with Russia and cite heightened security threats as justification. Ukrainian lawmaker Roman Kostenko defended the move, saying, 'We cannot remain bound by conditions when the enemy has no restrictions.' With inputs from agencies
The Guardian
27-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Campaigners sound alarm as European nations move to exit landmine ban
Rights groups have expressed alarm and warned of a 'slippery slope' of again embracing one of the world's most treacherous weapons, after five European countries said they intend to withdraw from the international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines. In announcing their plans earlier this year, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all pointed to the escalating military threat from Russia. In mid-April, Latvia's parliament became the first to formally back the idea, after lawmakers voted to pull out of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which bans the use, production and stockpiling of landmines designed for use against humans. Campaigners described the decisions – the first reversals among its more than 165 signatories – as a shocking step backwards. 'It feels like a punch to the face,' said Zoran Ješić, who lost his right leg to a landmine in Bosnia and now leads UDAS, a Bosnian organisation that supports landmine survivors. 'Antipersonnel landmines do horrible things to innocent people. They belong to a small group of weapons, including chemical and biological weapons, that are so abhorrent they must never be used again.' Ješić was a 21-year-old soldier for the Bosnian army when he stepped on a mine in a forest, leaving him grappling with a lifetime of trauma and disability. 'As I later heard, it was our mine,' said Ješić. 'The point is that when you put a mine in the ground, you never know what will happen. Will it wait for your soldiers, your civilians or the enemies? Usually, it hurts your people.' His view is backed up by statistics. Each year between 70% and 85% of those who are killed or injured by landmines around the world are civilians. Nearly half of these victims are children, hinting at the indiscriminate nature of these weapons. Campaigners had long assumed that there was little probability of countries reversing their stances against landmines, said Alma Taslidžan of Humanity & Inclusion, which works to help disabled and vulnerable people around the world. 'We really thought this kind of movement could never happen with landmines, because who wants landmines?' Instead her organisation and many others have been left scrambling to again warn of the overwhelming dangers of these weapons. 'This is really a tipping point for us,' said Taslidžan. 'It's not only about landmines. It is about the norms that are written for the situation of wartimes – we're afraid this is going to create a wave of weakening the international humanitarian law that has the first obligation to protect civilians.' The first public hint of the reversals came in March, when the defence ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland published a joint statement explaining their interest in leaving the treaty. 'Military threats to Nato member states bordering Russia and Belarus have significantly increased,' the statement noted. 'With this decision, we are sending a clear message: our countries are prepared and can use every necessary measure to defend our security needs.' Russia, which is not a signatory to the 1997 treaty, has used landmines extensively since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in-turn helping to make the country the most heavily mined in the world. Soon after, Finland, whose shared border with Russia runs for more than 800 miles, joined the list of countries threatening to leave the treaty. Doing so, the country's prime minister, Petteri Orpo, told reporters, would give the country 'the possibility to prepare for the changes in the security environment in a more versatile way'. Taslidžan stressed that there was little argument about the threat the five Nato countries were facing. 'The security situation is real, it is a problem,' she said. 'But choosing the most indiscriminate weapon amongst all to say that you are going to defend your country, that is wrong. Security cannot be built on a weapon that kills indiscriminately, that remains in the ground long after the conflict has ended and that specifically maims civilians.' Some of these countries' readiness to embrace these long-banned weapons was likely due to misinformation that had circulated about 'smart landmines' capable of curtailing civilian harms, she said. 'It's just bizarre information. There is not a smart landmine that can think for itself and say 'Oh oh, civilians, we won't explode now.'' While some landmines come with self-destruct mechanisms that enable them to detonate after a set period of time, campaigners have pointed out that they remain incapable of distinguishing between civilians and soldiers and that malfunction rates can run as high as 10%, meaning a significant number may fail to destroy on command. At the International Committee of the Red Cross, the potential reversals were being seen as 'extremely alarming,' said Maya Brehm, the legal adviser for the organisation's unit focused on arms and conduct of hostilities. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion 'From our perspective – and this is also a perspective shared by military authorities – whatever limited military value anti-personnel mines may still have in today's conflicts, it is vastly outweighed by the appalling and long-lasting humanitarian consequences,' said Brehm. The reversals come at a critical moment. Conflicts in Syria, Myanmar and Ukraine have led to an uptick in the number of landmine victims, while funding cuts threatened by US president Donald Trump's administration have left mine-clearance projects around the world facing uncertainty. Brehm worried that the withdrawals could set a wider precedent by suggesting that states could adopt rules in times of peace and later abandon these rules in times of conflict. 'These treaties are for the protection of people, they're humanitarian treaties. They are meant to be upheld at the darkest of times, when civilians depend on their protection for their very survival.' The concern was echoed by Norway's foreign affairs minister, Espen Barth Eide, in explaining why the country, which also borders Russia, was opting to remain in the treaty. 'This particular decision [by Finland] is something we regret,' he told Reuters this month. 'If we start weakening our commitment, it makes it easier for warring factions around the world to use these weapons again, because it reduces the stigma.' In Bosnia and Herzegovina, where conflict in the early 1990s left behind an estimated 3 million unexploded landmines – amounting to about 152 mines per square mile – landmines continue to be a threat for many, said Ješić from the Bosnian organisation that provides support to landmine victims. 'We're not even close to having a land free of mines,' he added. 'This is not just something that you can put in the ground and then you take it out when the war finishes.' As a result, three decades after the factions had put down their weapons, the lingering landmines had perpetuated the violence, killing and injuring hundreds across the country. Ješić described it as a cautionary tale for any country thinking about scattering these weapons across their lands. 'Tens of decades will probably be needed to clear the land of mines,' he said. 'And in the meantime, who knows how many civilians will be killed and hurt by this terrible weapon.'
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Finland to exit Ottawa landmine convention, aim for 3% GDP defense spending by 2029
Finland will withdraw from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines and increase its defense spending to 3% of GDP by 2029, President Alexander Stubb announced on April 1. Military spending will rise from 2.41% in 2024 to 3% by 2029 as part of the country's broader defense strategy. "This is a part of Finland's contribution to Europe taking greater responsibility for our own defense," Stubb posted on X. The Ottawa Convention, also known as the Mine Ban Treaty, prohibits using, stockpiling, producing, and transferring anti-personnel mines. Finland initially refrained from joining due to security concerns over its long land border with Russia but ratified the treaty in 2012. Stubb said the decision to withdraw followed a comprehensive assessment by Finland's ministries and Defense Forces. "Finland will always remain a responsible actor in the world, safeguarding its security and defence," he added. Finland joined NATO on April 4, 2023, becoming the alliance's 31st member, significantly altering the security landscape in Northern Europe. As tensions between NATO and Russia escalate following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Western intelligence agencies have warned of a potential large-scale war in Europe within the next five years. The move marks a significant shift in defense policy among NATO's front-line states. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland announced on March 18 that they would also withdraw from the Ottawa Convention to enhance their defenses against potential Russian aggression. Read also: Trump's Ukraine ceasefire proposals don't address 'root causes' of war, Moscow claims We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
BBC News
18-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Poland and Baltics to quit landmine treaty over Russia fears
Poland and the Baltic states have announced plans to withdraw from a key international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines, citing the rising threat from Russia. In a joint statement, the defence ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland said since signing the Ottawa Treaty, threats from Moscow and its ally Belarus have "significantly increased".It is "paramount" to give their troops "flexibility and freedom of choice" to defend Nato's eastern flank, they said. The Ottawa Treaty, also known as the Mine Ban Treaty, came into force in 1997. It aims to ban anti-personnel mines - those aimed at humans - worldwide, and has been signed by more than 160 countries. But some major military powers - including China, India, Russia, Pakistan, and the US - never signed up to the treaty. All of the Baltic states had signed the convention by 2005, while Poland did the same in 2012. In their joint statement on Tuesday, the nations' defence ministers said, however, that the security situation in their region since signing the treaty had "significantly deteriorated". "In light of these considerations, we... unanimously recommend withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention. "With this decision, we are sending a clear message: our countries are prepared and can use every necessary measure to defend our territory and freedom," the defence ministers they stressed that despite plans to leave the treaty, Poland and the Baltic states are still committed to international humanitarian laws, "including the protection of civilians during armed conflict". "Our nations will continue to uphold these principles while addressing our security needs," they wrote. All four countries are in the Nato alliance, and all four share borders with Russia. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Baltic states and Poland have hugely increased military spending, and leant a great deal of support to Ukraine. According to the Kiel Institute think tank, by percentage of GDP, the Baltic States and Poland are among the highest donors of aid to Ukraine. Ukraine is a signatory to the Ottawa Treaty, although it has received land mines from the US during Russia's full-scale invasion, and in the past has told the UN that due to Russia's invasion it cannot guarantee it is abiding by the 20 of the convention specifically states however that a nation cannot withdraw from the treaty if it is currently at war. The UN estimates the Ukraine is now the most mined nation in the world.
