The Biden administration has approved sending anti-personnel mines to Ukraine for the first time in another major policy shift, according to two US officials. The decision comes just days after the US gave Ukraine permission to fire long-range US missiles at targets in Russia,

The controversial White House move to send Kyiv land mines comes as Russia’s advances in eastern Ukraine threaten to overwhelm front-line defenses.

President Joe Biden has approved provision of anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine, a U.S. official told Reuters, a step that could help slow Russian advances in its east, especially when used along with other munitions from the United States.