With a presidential decree signed by the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskythe Republic of Ukraine formally decided yesterday 29 June 2025 to abandon the Ottawa convention from 1997 (ratified by Ukraine in 2005) having as its object the announcement to the use of Anti -man’s mines. The reason for the decision by the Kiev authorities is justified in the light of deterioration of the military situation To the front that is forced the military leaders to make drastic choices such as the massive use of mines to curb the Russian offensive.
Ukraine and the thorny issue of mines
At the time of its independence from the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited from the latter vast military arsenal, including large quantities of anti -man and anti -tank mines. The February 24, 1999 Kiev decided to sign the Ottawa Convention, then ratifying the December 27, 2005. The process of eliminating the old stocks however went ahead of the Lumaca Pass due to the economic vicissitudes of the Ukrainian state until it is completely interrupted in the 2014 Following the outbreak of the War in Donbass.
Since 2014, and even more from 2022all belligerent parts in Russian-Ukrainian conflict they did Wide use of mines Both on a defensive and offensive level, causing and suffering a large number of losses due to this treacherous and very effective war tool. Although De facto Ukraine no longer respecting the Ottawa Convention, so far he had not yet taken the fateful step to repudiate it also from a legal point of view, but the forerunner by Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland Also being a retirement, he gave the right to President Zelensky to “pass the Rubicone line”.
The 1997 Ottawa Convention: what these agreements are
Signed in the 1997 to Octawacapital of Canadathe homonymous agreement has been formulated to promulgate the international ban of the use, storage, production and sale of anti -human mines and instead encouraging their destruction. To date I am 165 the countries that have ratified or even only signed the document, in particular among the European countries, Latin American, Africans and the ocean area.
However, mines have not yet become a taboo for a series of apical countries of the world order, among which must be mentioned: The United States of America, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, the two Koreas, Iran and other important Middle Eastern actors. It is possible that given the current climate of resurgence of military conflicts globally, other countries will decide, wrongly or reason to return to focus on mines as part of their military arsenals.
The evolution of the Russian-Ukraine war and Kiev’s decision to get out of the Ottawa Convention
The Ukrainian decision to formalize its farewell to the Ottawa Convention arrives in a particularly delicate moment for the country, now increasingly under pressure on all fronts. After the last massive bombings that have practically involved the whole country, President Zelensky announced that only in the last week, the Russian armed forces have released More than 1270 Kamikaze drones, 1100 gliding bombs and 114 missiles of all kinds Against Ukrainian and the trend is seeing, week by week, a worsening progression, forcing Ukrainians to operate drastic choices in an increasingly desperate attempt to revive the fate of the conflict.
