Biden Agrees to Supply Ukraine With Anti-Personnel Mines

The Biden administration has approved supplying Ukraine with American anti-personnel mines to bolster defenses against Russian attacks as Ukrainian front lines in the country’s east have buckled, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday.

The decision is the latest in a series of moves by Russia and the United States related to the war in Ukraine that have escalated tensions between the two.

The White House recently granted permission to Ukraine to fire longer-range American missiles at targets in Russia, which the Ukrainians did for the first time on Tuesday. Moscow in response formalized a new doctrine lowering the threshold for when it would use nuclear weapons.

Mr. Austin said the U.S. decision was prompted by Russia’s increasing reliance on foot soldiers to lead their assaults, instead of armored vehicles. Mr. Austin, speaking to reporters while traveling in Laos, said the shift in policy follows changing tactics by the Russians. Because of that, Ukraine has “a need for things that can help slow down that effort on the part of the Russians,” Mr. Austin said.

“They’ve asked for these, and so I think it’s a good idea,” Mr. Austin said.

The mines that will be provided to Ukraine are called “nonpersistent,” and are designed to self-destruct after a period of time to reduce the long-term threat to noncombatants.

The move is also noteworthy because it is part of a series of actions taken in the waning weeks of the Biden presidency to bolster Ukraine. President Biden in the past has sought to calibrate American help for Ukraine against his own concern about crossing Russian “red lines” that could lead to direct conflict between Washington and Moscow.