Zelenskyy signs decree for Ukraine’s withdrawal from anti-landmine treaty

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to journalists during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday signed a decree putting his war-torn country on track to leave an international anti-landmine treaty, according to a document published on his website.

The Ottawa Convention 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 unexploded mines cause long-term risks for civilians.

Russia “is extremely cynical in its use of anti-personnel mines,” Zelenskyy said in his daily address.

“This is the trademark of Russian killers -– to destroy life by any means at their disposal,” he added.

More than 160 countries and territories are signatories to the Ottawa Convention, though neither the United States nor Russia have joined.

To enter into force, the decision still must be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament and notified to the United Nations.

The withdrawal would normally come into effect six months after the notification.

But according to the convention itself, if “on the expiry of that six-month period, the withdrawing state party is engaged in an armed conflict, the withdrawal shall not take effect before the end of the armed conflict.”

Zelenskyy said Ukraine -- more than three years into Moscow’s invasion -- was “aware of the complexities of the withdrawal procedure when it is carried out in wartime.”

“We are taking this political step and thus sending a signal to all our partners on what to focus on,” he added.

Confronted with the 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.”.

The move 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.