WASHINGTON — The United States will provide Ukraine with antipersonnel land mines to blunt the advance of Russian troops, an official familiar with the decision said, the latest effort by the Joe Biden administration to bolster support for Kyiv ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.
The mines the US will send to Ukraine are "non-persistent," becoming inert after a pre-set period that can last from a few hours to two weeks, according to the person, who was granted anonymity to discuss the policy.
The decision, reported earlier by the Washington Post, came about after President Joe Biden dropped his long-standing opposition to long-range strikes on Russia with the American-made Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS. Washington's shift on missile strikes came about after North Korean troops arrived to support Russian forces on the battlefield.
Ukraine took advantage of the ATACMS approval to strike a military base on Russian territory. Moscow, which has warned against such actions, stepped up its threat of a nuclear response to conventional attacks.
The Biden administration has vowed to expedite weapons deliveries and other support for Ukraine ahead of Trump's inauguration on Jan 20. The president-elect has repeatedly criticised Biden's approach to the war and promised to end the conflict even before taking office.
US President Donald Trump gestures during a bilateral meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019. (File photo: Reuters)
Meanwhile, the US embassy in Kyiv has received information of a potential significant air attack on Wednesday and will be closed, the US Department of State Consular Affairs said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Out of an abundance of caution, the embassy will be closed, and embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place," the department said in a statement published on the website of the US embassy in Kyiv.
"The US Embassy recommends US citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced."
Russia had been warning the West for months that if Washington allowed Ukraine to fire US, British and French missiles deep into Russia, Moscow would consider North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) members to be directly involved in the war in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in October that Moscow will respond to Ukraine's strikes with US-made weapons deep into Russia.
