Ukraine's parliament has passed a bill suspending Ukraine’s participation in the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak reported on July 15.
The decision was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada under the bill No. 0329, halting Ukraine’s obligations under the convention. The vote passed by 305 deputies, with 40 abstaining, and none voting against.
On June 29, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines, a step that follows the Baltic nations and Poland's move to boost their defense amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The 1997 treaty, joined by over 160 countries, bans the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines in efforts to protect civilians from the scattered explosives that could still injure them long after the conflict is over.
"Russia has never been a party to this convention and uses anti-personnel mines extremely cynically," Zelensky said in justifying the decision. "And not only now, in the war against Ukraine. This is the signature style of Russian killers — to destroy life by all methods at their disposal."
Citing Article 20 of the Ottawa Treaty, Human Rights Watch previously stressed that it takes half a year after the state submits a notice to the United Nations for the withdrawals to come into effect, and that it is not allowed to exit the treaty if the state is still in an armed conflict at the end of that period.
Earlier in March, the Baltic states and Poland announced their intention to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, a significant shift in defense policy that shows how countries near Ukraine are preparing for a potential war in Europe.
In a surprise move that angered Moscow, the Biden administration in 2024 approved the provision of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine. Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said it was to help Ukraine stall the Russian advances in the east as the front-line situation deteriorated.
Anti-personnel mines are scattered across the battlefield in Ukraine, with soldiers and civilians often losing their feet or limbs due to detonations.
Territories liberated by Ukraine since 2022 have been heavily covered with mines, making it extremely difficult and dangerous to clear them.
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