Ukraine on track to withdraw from Ottawa anti-personnel mines treaty, Zelenskiy decree shows
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Zelensky approves Ukraine’s withdrawal from treaty banning anti-personnel mines
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on Sunday to withdraw the country from the Ottawa Convention. The treaty bans the use of anti-personnel landmines. The withdrawal will take effect once it passes
The decree approves the National Security and Defense Council’s decision to pull out of the treaty “so as to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.”
The withdrawal will take effect once it passes parliament, said Ukrainian lawmaker Roman Kostenko.
“Russia is not a side of this convention,” Kostenko wrote on Facebook. “We cannot stay bound when the enemy has no limitations.”
Ukraine signed the Ottawa Convention in 1999 and ratified it in 2005.
Ukraine on track to withdraw from Ottawa anti-personnel mines treaty, Zelenskyy decree shows
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday he had signed a decree to pull Ukraine out of the Ottawa Convention banning the production and use of anti-personnel mines. He said it was a necessary step in view of Russian tactics in their 40-month-old war.
Ukraine ratified the convention in 2005.
Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address that Russia had never been a party to the convention “and is using anti-personnel mines with utmost cynicism” along with other weapons, including ballistic missiles.
“This is a hallmark of Russian killers. To destroy life by all means at their disposal. … We see how our neighbours in Europe react to this threat,” he said.
“We also know the complexities of the withdrawal procedure when it is conducted during war. We take this political step and give a signal to our political partners on what to focus on. This concerns all countries that border Russia,” he said.
Zelensky signs decree for Ukraine’s withdrawal from anti-personnel mines treaty
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree to pull Ukraine out of the Ottawa Convention banning the production and use of anti-personnel mines. He said it was a necessary step in view of Russian tactics in their 40-month-old war. Russia, along with the United States and China, is not a signatory to the agreement. Finland, Poland and the three ex-Soviet Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – have either withdrawn from the convention or indicated that they would do so. Ukraine sees the clearing of such mines as a key element in post-war recovery. The Ottawa Convention prohibits the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of all types ofAnti-Personnel mines, which are considered especially inhumane.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday he had signed a decree to pull Ukraine out of the Ottawa Convention banning the production and use of anti-personnel mines as a necessary step in view of Russian tactics in their 40-month-old war.
Ukraine ratified the convention in 2005.
The Ottawa Convention, adopted in 1997, prohibits the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of all types of anti-personnel mines, which are considered especially inhumane weapons. More than 160 countries have signed the agreement. Russia, along with the United States and China, is not a signatory.
Other countries bordering Russia, notably Finland, Poland and the three ex-Soviet Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – have either withdrawn from the convention or indicated that they would do so.
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A warning sign in a forest outside Izyum, Kharkiv region. File photo: AFP
Zelensky said in his nightly video address that Russia had never been a party to the convention “and is using anti-personnel mines with utmost cynicism” along with other weapons, including ballistic missiles.
“This is a hallmark of Russian killers. To destroy life by all means at their disposal. … We see how our neighbours in Europe react to this threat,” he said.
“We also know the complexities of the withdrawal procedure when it is conducted during war. We take this political step and give a signal to our political partners on what to focus on. This concerns all countries that border Russia,” he said.
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Anti-personnel mines, Zelensky said, are “often the instrument for which nothing can be substituted for defence purposes”.
Russia has used anti-personnel mines extensively in parts of Ukraine where its forces have been operating. Ukraine sees the clearing of such mines as a key element in post-war recovery.
The decree appearing on the president’s website calls for support for a Ukrainian foreign ministry proposal 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”.
A senior Ukrainian lawmaker, Roman Kostenko, said parliamentary approval was still needed to withdraw from the treaty.
“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, secretary of the Ukrainian parliament’s committee on national security, defence and intelligence, said on his Facebook page.
“We cannot remain tied down in an environment where the enemy has no restrictions,” he added, saying that the legislative decision must definitively restore Ukraine’s right to effectively defend its territory.
Russia has intensified its offensive operations in Ukraine in recent months, using significant superiority in manpower.
Kostenko did not say when the issue would be debated in parliament.
Additional reporting by dpa
Macron urges Iran to return to talks on its ballistic, nuclear programs
French President Emmanuel Macron calls for Tehran’s return to the negotiating table to address ballistic and nuclear issues. He also called on Tehran to respect the ceasefire with Israel and to help restore peace in the region.
He also called on Tehran to respect the ceasefire with Israel and to help restore peace in the region, the post on his X said.
Macron said he also called for the release of French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris and the protection of French nationals and facilities in Iran, which “must not be subject to any threats.”
Ukraine updates: Kyiv set to quit anti-landmine treaty
Ukraine’s move to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention follows similar steps recently taken by the Baltic States and Poland. Russia launches massive air attack,overnight, deep into Ukraine. Ukraine loses an F-16 fighter jet and pilot during Russian aerial bombardment. Ukraine’s president signs a decree putting his country on track to leave the anti-landmine Ottawa Convention, according to a document published on a presidential website. The decision to quit the convention must be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament and communicated to the United Nations before going into effect. Russia has intensified its offensive operations in Ukraine and seized more territory, exploiting its significant advantage in manpower. The war against Ukraine is the biggest foreign policy issue for Germany, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told Funke media, warning that Russia must not be underestimated. Russia launched a fresh wave attack on Ukraine overnight, targeting the country’s central and western regions. The attack was reported to have left at least three people dead and many more injured. The Russian military said it was targeting targets in the south and west.
Zelenskyy puts Ukraine on track to leave the anti-landmine convention Russia launches massive air attack,overnight, deep into Ukraine Ukraine loses an F-16 fighter jet and pilot during Russian aerial bombardment
Below, you can read a roundup of events regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine from Sunday, June 29, 2025.
Zelenskyy signs off on Ukraine’s withdrawing from anti-landmine treaty
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, signed a decree putting his country on track to leave the anti-landmine Ottawa Convention, according to a document published on a presidential website.
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“I hereby decree … to put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine dated June 29, 2025 on Ukraine’s withdrawal” from the Ottawa convention, Zelenskyy said.
The decision to quit the convention must be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament and communicated to the United Nations before going into effect.
Ukraine’s move follows similar steps recently taken by the Baltic States and Poland.
The 1997 Ottawa treaty bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of anti-personnel landmines in an effort to protect civilians from explosives that can maim or kill long after the fighting has ended.
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In recent months, Russia has intensified its offensive operations in Ukraine and seized more territory, exploiting its significant advantage in manpower.
Russia’s spy chief says he spoke to US CIA director
Sergei Naryshkin, the director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), said he had spoken with John Ratcliffe, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
“I had a phone call with my American counterpart, and we reserved for each other the possibility to call each other at any time and discuss issues of interest to us,” Naryshkin told Kremlin state television reporter Pavel Zarubin.
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Naryshkin did not provide further details about his call with Ratcliffe.
The CIA and the SVR, the successor to the KGB’s First Chief Directorate, have long been intense rivals. Each service resorted to public campaigns to recruit agents in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
According to Russian media, Naryshkin’s last known call with the CIA director took place in March 2025.
German FM Wadephul warns against underestimating Russia
The war against Ukraine is the biggest foreign policy issue for Germany, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told Funke media, warning that Russia must not be underestimated.
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He also said the war was the biggest threat to security within Europe.
“Russia directly threatens our peaceful and free life in Germany,” he said in the interview, published on Sunday.
Wadephul is a senior member of new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative party. He has previously criticized Russia’s Vladimir Putin for indiscriminate bombing in Ukraine.
Ukraine loses pilot and F-16 fighter jet in overnight Russian strikes
A Ukrainian pilot has been killed and his F-16 fighter jet lost as Ukraine’s military forces worked to repel a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack.
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Ukraine’s military confirmed the loss on Sunday morning.
This is the third such loss of an F-16 fighter jet since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the military said.
“The pilot used all of his onboard weapons and shot down seven air targets. While shooting down the last one, his aircraft was damaged and began to lose altitude,” Ukraine’s air force said on the Telegram messaging app.
The pilot flew the jet away from civilian settlements and did not have time to eject to save himself, the message read.
Russia launches massive drone, missile strikes deep into Ukraine
Russia launched a fresh wave attack on Ukraine overnight, targeting the country’s central, southern and western region. Some 500 aerial weapons were deployed including drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, Ukraine’s military said.
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At least three people were injured and there were reports of damaged houses and other infrastructure.
Air raid sirens sounded across the country, including the western region which is considerably far from the Russian front lines.
“To repel the massive attack, all available means of the defense forces that can operate on enemy air assets were deployed,” Ukraine’s military said.
Reports cited the operational command of the Polish Armed Forces saying they scrambled fighter jets and activated ground-based air defenses in response to the raids in Ukraine which were close to Poland’s border.
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This comes after Ukraine’s air force had warned of an attack involving Russian bombers and drones on Saturday evening.
RBK-Ukraine, a local news agency, reported explosions in Kyiv overnight.
Ukraine’s military said Russia had launched some 477 drones and 60 missiles but that 211 of the drones and 38 of the missiles had been intercepted and destroyed. A total of 226 targets were reported as lost, most likely due to electronic jamming.
Welcome to our coverage
We are following the latest developments concerning Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, once again, has said he is ready for a round of peace talks with Ukraine. This would be the third such round of talks, should they materialize. Meanwhile, Russia continued to strike parts of Ukraine with drones and missiles.
US President Donald Trump said he believed something could soon happen that could bring Russia’s war in Ukraine to an end, referencing a recent phone call with Putin but providing no further details.