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US PRESIDENT Joe Biden has approved another major weapon for Ukraine – mere weeks before he has to leave the White House.
In the home stretch of his four years in power, Biden is handing as much power over to Ukraine as possible with hefty American ATACMS missiles and now anti-personnel land mines.
An anti-personnel land mine in action – used to spark deadly explosions against encroaching enemy lines
AP
US President Biden pictured with Ukrainian premier ZelenskyThe mines are designed to be used against enemy combatants – sparking devastating explosions in battle.
They erupt when a person – or people – come across them, and are often fatal.
Biden today approved their use by Kyiv’s embattled forces, a US official told Reuters.
Ukraine is expected to use them on its own land but has committed to not using them in civilian-heavy areas – focusing on Vladimir Putin’s invading armies instead.
The US has given Ukraine anti-tank mines before – which unlike the personnel explosives, aim to obliterate enemy vehicles as they approach.
Biden’s move comes ahead of Donald Trump’s impending presidency – with the Republican having previously criticised the amount of US aid sent to Ukraine.
His son, Don Jr, raged against the outgoing administration on X: “The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.”
It comes after Biden on Sunday approved Ukrainian use of American made ATACMS long-range missiles – which can reach up to 190 miles.
Overnight on Monday, as Ukraine marked 1,000 days of war with Russia, it launched half a dozen of them into enemy territory.
The Ukrainian army successfully hit a military facility in Bryansk – where Russia was storing anti-aircraft missiles and North Korean ammo.
It was the first time ever that embattled Kyiv was able to unleash the ballistic rockets on Russian soil.
News of the strike came just hours after Putin green-lit a new nuclear doctrine, in retaliation to Ukraine’s new missile permissions.
It equated use of the Western weapons by Ukraine with an act of aggression by those allied countries supplying them with weapons.
The Kremlin said it marked the crossing of a red line – officially putting nuclear retaliation on the table.
Downing Street slammed the Russian government for the fresh WW3 threat – with a Starmer spokesperson saying: “It would be fair to say it’s the latest example of irresponsibility that we’ve seen from the depraved Russian government.
“We remain steadfast in our support for Ukraine and the defence of an illegal invasion, and we’ve always said that the defence of the UK starts in Ukraine.”
Why is Joe Biden rushing through major decisions on Ukraine weapons policy?
BY Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
US President Joe Biden has only eight weeks left before Donald Trump replaces him in the Oval Office.
He has long been a staunch supporter of Ukraine – pushing through major aid packages amounting to billions of dollars.
Trump – and many of the Republicans in government – have criticised the amount of US aid sent to Ukraine in the past.
He has also refused to be drawn on questions about whether Ukraine should have free-reign to fire long-range missiles into enemy territory.
With only days left in power, Biden has now issued two long-awaited weapons policies on the war in less than a week.
On November 17 reports surfaced from Washington that he had approved the use of American ATACMS rockets.
Only days later – he OK’d the use of ferocious anti-personnel mines.
The Republicans are set to take control of the House, Senate and White House from January 2025.
Biden’s fast-moving Ukraine policy, just a few weeks after the election, could be seen as an attempt to rush through help for Kyiv before the next administration steps in.
Ukraine sparked a fire at a military depot in Bryansk – after launching six ATACMS missiles into Russia
AFPPutin’s long-time ally Belarus on Wednesday raged against the American policy move to allow for use of anti-personnel land mines.
It’s Armed Forces told Russian state news outlet RIA that it was “irresponsible” and “yet another violation of the balance of power in the world”.
Led by fellow despot Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus served as the facilitator of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The pair have long been aligned and generally view the West as a common enemy.
Meanwhile the US closed its embassy in Kyiv this morning amid reports of a huge Russian revenge strike – and as Moscow said it would “react accordingly”.
The US embassy said it received “specific” intel about a “potential significant air attack”.
A statement read: “Out of an abundance of caution, the embassy will be closed, and embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place.”
In an unusual warning, the embassy told American citizens to “be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced”.
Soon after Spain and Greece also closed their embassies – telling citizens to “take extreme security measures” due to “increased risk of air strikes throughout Ukraine”.
Putin has warned that Moscow will respond to Ukraine‘s strikes with US-made weapons.
In September, he warned that it would “mean Nato countries are at war with Russia”.
Ukraine searches for drones over Kyiv during a Russian drone strike
The US Embassy closed down ahead of a potential air strike on Kyiv
English (US)