Zelensky Ukraine's withdrawal from anti-landmine treaty
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday signed a decree putting his war-torn country on track to leave the anti-landmine Ottawa...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gives a joint press conference with the German Chancellor at the Chancellery in Berlin on 11 October 2024. Picture: Tobias Schwarz / AFP
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday signed a decree putting his war-torn country on track to leave the anti-landmine Ottawa Convention, according to a document published on his website.
The treaty bans signatories from acquiring, producing, stockpiling or using anti-personnel mines, which are designed to be buried or hidden on the ground.
They often leave victims mutilated if they are not immediately killed, and aid groups denounce the long-term risk of unexploded mines for civilians.
Putting Ukrainians first
More than 160 countries and territories are signatories to the Ottawa Convention, though neither the United States nor Russia have joined.
'I hereby decree… to put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine dated June 29, 2025 on Ukraine's withdrawal' from the landmark convention, Zelensky said.
To enter into force, the decision still must be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament and notified to the United Nations.
Confronted with Russia's invasion, 'Ukraine is compelled to give unconditional priority to the security of its citizens and the defence of the state,' Ukraine's foreign ministry said in a statement.
It said the decision to withdraw was 'difficult but necessary' in order to 'protect our land from occupation, and our people from horrific Russian atrocities.'.
'This step has been demanded by the reality of war long ago,' a Ukrainian lawmaker, Roman Kostenko, said on social media.
'Russia… uses mines against our military and civilians on a massive scale. We cannot remain bound by conditions when the enemy has no restrictions,' he said.
The treaty withdrawal, more than three years into Moscow's invasion, follows similar decisions by Kyiv's allies Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — all neighbours of Russia.
In March, human rights groups condemned their intention to pull out from the convention.
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Putin's oil and gas man joins secretive Antarctic Treaty meeting in Milan
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That event sparked environmental protests at the port city's V&A Waterfront — one of South Africa's most popular tourist destinations — and a letter of demand by 29 South African groups, which called on Pretoria to intervene. Pretoria's answer at the time? The Russian state mineral explorer was free to pursue its interests under the treaty's 'freedom of scientific investigation' principle — also allowed by the region's mining ban. Moscow's response? Giving Lunev a top job in Antarctica: that is, heading the Russian Antarctic Expedition, the state agency that executes Moscow's operational interests in the frigid southern frontier. Who is Pavel Lunev? A trained palaeontologist with tousled hair and a smile fit for the cover of Outside magazine, Lunev now appears in a suit and tie in a Russian press statement on the delegation's work in Milan — wearing a look that says, 'I'm not outside right now.' 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However, Russian authorities have not responded to our repeated attempts to reach them since Lunev's most recent response in May 2022. The Russian delegation did not respond to queries on Sunday. DM
eNCA
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Morocco's Atlantic gambit: linking restive Sahel to ocean
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