Ukraine withdraws from anti-personnel mine ban treaty amid Russian attacks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree withdrawing his country from an international agreement banning the use of anti-personnel mines on Monday.

The 1997 Ottawa Convention bans the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines under the reasoning that it causes too much danger to civilians after hostilities have ended. Ukraine was one of roughly 160 countries that had agreed to the treaty, though Russia never did.

“Russia has never been a party to this convention and uses anti-personnel mines extremely cynically,” Zelenskyy said in a statement. “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.”

Zelenskyy’s announcement is not the final step in formally withdrawing from the treaty, however, as Ukraine’s parliament must now vote on the issue.

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Ukraine has suffered greatly in recent years from Russia’s own use of anti-personnel landmines. Regions that Ukrainian forces have liberated from Russian invaders have been strewn with the devices, leading to injuries for both civilians and soldiers.

News of Kyiv’s pending withdrawal comes just a day after Moscow fired 537 aerial weapons toward Ukraine, including 477 drones and decoys and 60 missiles, according to Ukraine’s air force. Ukraine said it was the largest aerial attack so far in the war.

 Among the weapons, 249 were shot down and 226 were lost, likely electronically jammed.

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The attack was “the most massive airstrike” against Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022, Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine’s air force, told the Associated Press, taking into account both drones and various types of missiles.

Several regions were targeted, including western Ukraine, located far from the front line.

Poland and allied countries scrambled aircraft to ensure the safety of Polish airspace, Poland’s air force said.

One person was killed in a drone strike in the Kherson region, according to Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin, while another died when a drone hit a car in the Kharkiv region, its Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said. Six people were wounded in Cherkasy, including a child, regional Gov. Ihor Taburets said.

Ukraine’s air force said one of its F-16 warplanes supplied by the West crashed after sustaining damage as it was shooting down air targets, killing the pilot.

Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report