Ukrainian President Moves to Withdraw From Ottawa Convention: What to Know

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday signed a decree to withdraw the country from the Ottawa Convention, an international treaty that bans the use and stockpiling of antipersonnel landmines, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) confirmed on Sunday.

The decree comes after more than three years since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

When asked for additional comment on Sunday morning, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred Newsweek to its website post.

Why It Matters

Antipersonnel mines are designed to use against humans rather than tanks or military vehicles and cannot distinguish between civilians and combatants. As they are hidden and often scattered, the mines often maim or kill civilians long after fighting has ended.

The announcement comes the same day as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries scrambled fighter jets, according to the Polish military, after a Ukrainian official said Moscow had launched its largest-scale air attack on the country in more than three years.

In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its Eastern European neighbor, with the conflict resulting in significant loss of life, international sanctions on Moscow, and a protracted humanitarian crisis. Russia previously annexed Crimea in 2014.

What To Know

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a statement on its official website that said “Ukraine has made the difficult but necessary political decision to stop the implementation of irrelevant obligations under the Ottawa Convention.”

The ministry’s post continued stating that Russia’s “armed aggression” has made Ukraine, and other nearby countries “reassess their positions and adopt a joint political decision to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention.”

In March, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland announced their intention to withdraw from the treaty, while Finland’s parliament voted to do so in June. On Friday, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kęstutis Budrys, confirmed in an X, formerly Twitter, post that the country has “formally notified the UN Secretary-General of its withdrawal from the Mine Ban Treaty.”

Ukraine’s statement and move to withdraw came just hours after Ukrainian authorities said Russia had launched 477 drones and decoys, as well as 60 missiles of various types, at Kyiv overnight. The country’s air force said it had shot down 211 drones with another 225 straying before hitting their targets. Air defenses intercepted one of the short-range ballistic missiles, four of the Kalibr cruise missiles and 33 Kh-101 missiles, according to the military.

The attacks into Sunday were the largest airstrikes on Ukraine of more than three years of full-scale war in the country in terms of number of incoming threats, Colonel Yuriy Ignat, an official with Ukraine’s Air Force, confirmed to Newsweek.

What Is the Ottawa Convention?

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, better known as the Ottawa Convention or Mine Ban Treaty, went into effect in 1999.

More than 160 countries had signed onto the treaty over the years, with Ukraine having ratified it in 2005. Neither Russia nor the United States is a party to the treaty.

What People Are Saying

Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a June 29 statement on Telegram: “At night, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation delivered a mass strike by air-, ground-, and sea-based long-range precision weaponry, the Kindzhal hypersonic aero-ballistic missile system as well as unmanned aerial vehicles at Ukrainian defense industry and oi-refining enterprises.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in an X, formerly Twitter, post on June 29: “Almost all night long, air raid alerts sounded across Ukraine — 477 drones were in our skies, most of them Russian-Iranian Shaheds, along with 60 missiles of various types. The Russians were targeting everything that sustains life. A residential building in Smila was also hit, and a child was injured. Emergency services are responding wherever they’re needed.”

Roman Kostenko, the People’s Deputy of Ukraine, wrote in a Sunday Facebook post, “This is a step that the reality of war has long demanded. Russia is not a side of this convention and massively applies mines against our military and civilian. We cannot stay bound when the enemy has no limitations.”

What Happens Next

Zelensky’s signature to withdraw now advances the measure to the Ukrainian parliament, which will vote on the matter. If approved, then the country must notify the United Nations.