Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed legislation suspending Ukraine’s obligations under the Ottawa Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines, marking a major policy shift in the country’s approach to landmine warfare.
"I have signed documents submitted from the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: […] on the suspension of the Ottawa Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines for Ukraine," Zelensky announced via his official Telegram channel.
The Ottawa Treaty, signed in December 1997 and effective since 1999, commits its signatories to refrain from the use, development, production, stockpiling, or transfer of anti-personnel mines. Member states are required to destroy all mine stockpiles within four years of ratification, and annually report on stock levels, destruction progress, and contaminated areas.
Currently, 164 countries have ratified the convention. However, 34 countries remain outside the treaty, including China, Russia, and the United States.
In late June, Zelensky signed a decree enacting a decision by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council to withdraw from the treaty, subsequently forwarding the legislation to parliament for approval.
Ukraine’s move follows similar decisions by several NATO-bordering countries, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Finland, who cited “a significant escalation of military threats” from neighboring Russia and Belarus as the primary justification.
Russian officials warned that such steps “will inevitably lead to further escalation of tensions in Europe and the deterioration of regional and international security.”
Moscow maintains that joining the Ottawa Convention would be inadvisable, despite claiming to support its humanitarian goals. Russia insists that anti-personnel mines remain an "effective and low-cost tool for safeguarding the country’s borders."
