New Era Begins: Ukraine Expands Minefield Defenses

Today, the biggest news comes from Ukraine.

Anti-personnel mines have been playing a key role in the defence of Ukraine from the beginning of the war. Now these defensive weapons will be even more widely implemented on the frontlines, finally without restrictions.

Two and a half months ago, Parliament member Roman Kostenko announced that Ukraine began the process of withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention banning Anti-Personnel Mines. This is an international treaty that prohibits the use, stockpiling, and production of anti-personnel mines. With President Volodymyr Zelensky then also signing a decree to enact the decision, Ukraine can now use these mines freely to fend off Russian attacks more effectively.

Russia has never signed the convention and widely uses mines against both Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. This created an uneven playing field for the Ukrainian armed forces, since they were bound by many of the treaty’s restrictions, while the enemy deployed various types of mines indiscriminately. By 2020, Ukraine had destroyed nearly all its prohibited mine types to comply with the treaty, and when the war broke out; the result was that Ukraine had little to no mines to defend itself.

Armoured attacks are declining while the Russians are changing their tactics and trying to advance with small groups of infantry, which necessitates increased usage of anti-personnel mines. It is important to note that Ukraine has used landmines before officially withdrawing from the treaty, such as the Soviet-era PMN series, OZM-72, and POM-2 scatterable mines. Additionally, the United States transferred M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel mines in 2024. These are designed to self-destruct or become inert after a set time, making them a safer option to avoid long-lasting risk to civilians during and after the war ends.

The formal withdrawal marks a turning point, however, because it will allow Ukraine to receive, produce, and stockpile landmines, to facilitate a permanent supply of mines to the frontlines. Finland, Lithuania, and Poland also announced that they plan to withdraw from the treaty and ramp up the domestic production of landmines, with Finland and Lithuania stating they will supply Ukraine with these mines as well.

Anti-personnel mines are used for area denial and to slow down advancing enemy troops by forcing them to clear the mined areas. Ukrainian soldiers can consistently mine the tree lines, forcing Russians to move out in the open or through the fields, making them easily detectable and prime targets.

The simplest and most cost-effective way to mine an area is to use soldiers on the ground, who dig the mines underground or camouflage them. When this is not possible, scatterable mines can be deployed with remote delivery using special artillery shells or heavy drones.

The United States supplied Adam artillery-fired Area Denial-Artillery-Munitions to Ukraine, which is a 155-millimetre artillery shell that contains 36 individual mines. This can be deployed dozens of kilometres from the zero line to mine Russian-controlled areas, or to mine behind advancing forces to slow down or deny their retreat.

The heavy Baba Yaga drone can also carry a payload of 15 kilograms and can be used to deploy mines up to 20 kilometres from the target area. Another delivery method is ground drones, which can drop or lay mines along an avenue of approach, tree line, or even directly on top of Russian positions themselves,discreetly and with very little noise, making for nasty surprises. Ukraine additionally uses command-detonated directional charges, such as US claymores, in defensive roles to reduce risk to civilians compared to victim-activated mines.

Mines play a key role, as the enemy infantry does not know when they enter into a minefield, making them constantly worry about a threat hidden on the ground in addition to the relentless Ukrainian drone threat from the sky.

Overall, there is a growing trend among countries bordering and fighting Russia to leave the Ottawa Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines to better defend against Russian aggression. Ukraine’s formal withdrawal from the treaty enables it to use a cost-effective defensive weapon more widely to slow down the advancing Russians, while causing them inevitable losses.

Most of the mines used by Kiev are designed to be less dangerous to civilians, while being effective against the invading forces. This development will prove vital in the future defence of Ukraine, not just on the frontlines, but in other border areas as well.

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