Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree enacting the decision of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine to withdraw the country from the Ottawa Treaty – an international treaty that bans the use, stockpiling and production of anti-personnel mines.
Source: Colonel Roman Kostenko, officer of the Security Service of Ukraine, on Facebook; Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi on Telegram, decree of the Ukrainian president
Update: Later, the Ukrainian President’s Office released the decree on their website.
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Quote from Kostenko: “I’ve just been informed that the president signed a decree enacting the decision of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine to withdraw our state from the Ottawa Treaty – the international treaty prohibiting the use, stockpiling and production of anti-personnel mines.
This is a step long demanded by the realities of war. Russia is not a party to this Treaty and is widely using mines against both our military personnel and civilians. We cannot remain bound while the enemy faces no such restrictions.
We now await the matter to be considered by the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament). Legislative approval of this decision will finally restore Ukraine’s right to effectively defend its territory.”
Details: Sadovyi also confirmed the news, noting that similar decisions were previously made by Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Finland.
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