91Èȱ¬

Image source, Reuters

As we've reported, US President Joe Biden has agreed to give Ukraine anti-personnel land mines, a US defence official tells the 91Èȱ¬.

This is seen as the latest move by the outgoing US administration to bolster Ukraine's war effort before Donald Trump returns to the White House on 20 January, and an attempt to slow Russian troops who have been steadily advancing in Ukraine's east in recent months.

Ukraine was committed to not using such mines in densely-populated areas, the official said.

Russia has deployed landmines liberally since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 but international objections to the use of such weapons on the grounds that they pose a risk to civilians had prevented the Biden administration from signing off on them.

The US defence official confirmed to the 91Èȱ¬ that Ukraine had pledged to use only mines that remained active for a limited period of time.

The US "non-persistent" mines differ from Russia's as they become inert after a pre-set period of time - anywhere from four hours to two weeks.

Good morning and welcome to our coverage of the latest developments in Ukraine.

You join as a US defence official tells the 91Èȱ¬ that President Joe Biden has agreed to give Ukraine anti-personnel land mines.

The official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said such mines would be delivered soon and Washington expected that they would be used on Ukraine's territory.

It follows Sunday's news that Washington had agreed to allow Ukraine to fire US-supplied longer-range missiles at Russian territory.

Overnight, both Ukraine and Russia reported major drone attacks on their respective territories.

Separately, the US embassy in Kyiv said it would be temporarily closed after it "received specific information of a potential significant air attack on 20 November".

Stay with us as we bring you the latest news and analysis.