Kyiv Admits It Will Not Destroy Nearly 6 Million Landmines

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry admitted today that Ukraine will not fulfill its commitment to destroy its stockpile of nearly six million landmines inherited from the Soviet era due to Russia's invasion.

Although it has made this commitment under the Oslo Action Plan of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, fulfilling the promise "is not currently possible", said the head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Yevhenii Kivshyk, at a conference on landmines taking place in Cambodia.

"The massive, unprovoked and unjustified aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine has led to adjustments in the plans for the destruction of the stockpiles", he argued.

The stockpiles and other locations where anti-personnel mines are stored "have been under constant air and missile attacks by the armed forces of the Russian Federation", the official said, adding that "some of them are in territories currently under the occupation of the Russian armed forces".

This means there is “no possibility of auditing or verifying stockpiles of anti-personnel mines,” he added.

Ukraine is a signatory to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention and has pledged to destroy its stockpile of landmines, but has previously missed deadlines for this goal.

Last week, Washington announced it would send anti-personnel landmines to Kiev to help fight Russian troops, a decision that was immediately condemned by human rights advocates.

Landmine victims from around the world gathered at the convention to protest the US decision, with more than 100 protesters lining the walkway that delegates walked to the conference venue where countries are reviewing progress on the anti-personnel mine ban treaty.

“See what anti-personnel landmines will do to your people,” read a placard held by two victims.

The United States and Russia are not signatories to the anti-landmine convention.

Kivshyk made no mention of the US offer to Ukraine during his speech at the Cambodia conference.

The 5th conference of the Ottawa Convention, which has been taking place in Siem Reap, Cambodia, since Monday, aims to review, every five years, the implementation of the convention that prohibits its signatories from acquiring, producing, stockpiling and using anti-personnel mines.

The document was signed by 164 countries and territories, including Ukraine, but not the United States or Russia.