Ukraine and several Baltic and Nordic states are withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines, citing security threats from Russia.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree initiating the country’s withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the production and use of anti-personnel mines, according to an announcement on the presidential website on Sunday.
Ukraine ratified the convention in 2005. The decree states: "Support the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to withdraw Ukraine from the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction of September 18, 1997."
Roman Kostenko, secretary of the Ukrainian parliament's committee on national security, defence and intelligence, said parliamentary approval is still required to finalise the withdrawal.
"This is a step that the reality of war has long demanded. Russia is not a party to this Convention and is massively using mines against our military and civilians," Kostenko wrote on Facebook.
"We cannot remain tied down in an environment where the enemy has no restrictions," he added, stressing that Ukraine’s legislative decision would restore its right to effectively defend its territory.
Meanwhile, Lithuania has formally notified the United Nations of its decision to leave the treaty, Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on X on Friday. Under treaty rules, Lithuania will no longer be bound by the convention six months after notification.
Parliaments of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Poland – all NATO and EU members bordering Russia – have approved their countries’ withdrawal from the treaty, citing the increased military danger posed by their neighbour.
Russia has intensified its offensive operations in Ukraine in recent months, leveraging significant superiority in manpower.
Kostenko did not specify when the Ukrainian parliament would debate the withdrawal.
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Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 26 June, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Power was fully or partly cut across the Russian-held part of Ukraine’s Kherson region early on Friday (26 June), according to the Moscow-installed governor Vladimir Saldo.
The Kremlin has denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming Moscow is pressuring Belarus to support an expanded Russian military campaign in Ukraine.
Russia has called for clarification on whether U.S. President Donald Trump has changed his position on the war in Ukraine following remarks made at the recent G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck Japan's northeast coast on Thursday, but no tsunami warning was issued, no injuries were immediately reported and no irregularities were found at nuclear facilities, the authorities said.
As Western Europe battles a deadly heatwave that has shattered temperature records, disrupted transport and power supplies, and forced the closure of schools and cultural landmarks, attention is turning to whether El Niño is playing a role in the extreme conditions.
The U.S. Senate rejected a resolution on Wednesday that would have directed President Donald Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress formally authorised military action.
The Kremlin has denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming Moscow is pressuring Belarus to support an expanded Russian military campaign in Ukraine.
Tens of thousands of people are still unaccounted for after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela. At least 589 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds are believed to be trapped under rubble, as emergency crews and international rescue teams race to respond.
Germany and Poland are bracing for sweltering conditions as a deadly heatwave that has gripped Western Europe moves east, with temperatures expected to approach 40C over the weekend.
Washington and Tehran accuse each other of breaching last week’s ceasefire as tensions rise around the key shipping route.
Rescue teams and residents in Venezuela are continuing to search for survivors after twin earthquakes killed more than 900 people and left thousands injured.
Burkina Faso has severed diplomatic relations with France, widening a years-long rupture with its former colonial ruler and marking the latest diplomatic break between France and military-led governments in the Sahel.
Sweden discriminated against vulnerable European Union migrants, many of them from the Roma community, by denying them equal access to healthcare, the European Committee of Social Rights has ruled.
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