Overview

• President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on June 29 to initiate Ukraine’s exit from the 1997 Ottawa Convention banning antipersonnel mines
• Kyiv’s Foreign Ministry described the decision as a difficult but proportionate measure to counter Russia’s widespread use of landmines since its 2022 invasion
• Implementation of the decree requires approval by the Ukrainian parliament and formal notification to the United Nations before any withdrawal takes effect
• Poland and the Baltic states announced comparable treaty withdrawals in March, citing similar security threats from Russian mine deployments
• International NGOs and the ICRC have cautioned that abandoning the mine ban could heighten risks to civilians and complicate demining of Ukraine’s contaminated territories