US President Joe Biden has approved the delivery of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine that could help slow the advance of Russian troops eastwards, especially if used with other US munitions, on Tuesday, the 19th of November, citing a US official, reports Reuters and the BBC.
The provision of anti-personnel mines is the latest step taken by the outgoing US administration to support the Ukraine war effort ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House on the 20th of January.
The US expects Ukraine to use mines on its territory. Ukraine is committed not to use them in densely populated areas, the official said.
Washington has already supplied Ukraine with anti-tank mines, but anti-personnel mines, which can be deployed quickly, are designed to reduce the advance of ground forces, the official added.
US mines differ from Russian mines because they are “non-permanent” and become inert after a certain time – from four hours to two weeks – the official said. They require a battery to detonate and do not explode when the battery runs out.
On Tuesday, Ukraine used US ATACMS missiles to attack Russian territory, taking advantage of the outgoing Biden administration’s recently granted authorisation on the 1000th day of the war.
Russia reported that five of the six ATACMS missiles targeting its Bryansk region were intercepted on Tuesday morning, but US officials said that only two of the eight missiles fired by Ukraine were intercepted, one of which caused a fire at a military facility.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear response the same day. Nuclear doctrine now states that an attack by a non-nuclear state, if supported by a nuclear state, will be considered a joint attack on Russia.
Commenting on the change, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said “Since the war of aggression against Ukraine began, [Russia] has sought to coerce and intimidate both Ukraine and other countries around the world through irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and actions.”
Separately, the US State Department announced that its embassy in Kyiv would be closed after “receiving specific information about a possible serious air strike on the 20th of November”.
“As a precautionary measure, the embassy will be closed and embassy personnel are directed to shelter in place,” the embassy said in a statement. “The US Embassy advises US citizens to be prepared to take shelter immediately in the event that an air alert is issued.”
Overnight, both Ukraine and Russia reported major drone attacks on their territories.