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Biden Approves Anti-personnel Mines for Ukraine

President Joe Biden walks to his limousine upon arriving on Air Force One late Tuesday, Nov. 19 2024, at Joint Base Andrews, from G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Joe Biden walks to his limousine upon arriving on Air Force One late Tuesday, Nov. 19 2024, at Joint Base Andrews, from G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Biden Approves Anti-personnel Mines for Ukraine

President Joe Biden walks to his limousine upon arriving on Air Force One late Tuesday, Nov. 19 2024, at Joint Base Andrews, from G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Joe Biden walks to his limousine upon arriving on Air Force One late Tuesday, Nov. 19 2024, at Joint Base Andrews, from G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Joe Biden has approved provision of anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine, a US 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.
The United States expects Ukraine to use the mines in its own territory, though it has committed not to use them in areas populated with its own civilians, the official said. The Washington Post first reported the development.
The office of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian defence ministry, the Russian defence ministry and the Kremlin did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests to comment.
The United States has provided Ukraine with anti-tank mines throughout its war with Russia, but the addition of anti-personnel mines aims at blunting the advance of Russian ground troops, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The US mines differ from Russia's as they are "non-persistent," and become inert after a preset period, the official said. They require a battery to detonate, and will not explode once the battery runs out.
On Tuesday, Ukraine used US ATACMS missiles to strike into Russian territory, taking advantage of newly granted permission from Biden's outgoing administration on the war's 1,000th day.
Moscow said the use of ATACMS, the longest-range missiles Washington has yet supplied to Ukraine, was a clear signal the West wanted to escalate the conflict.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a broader range of conventional attacks.
The move followed months of warnings to the West that if Washington allowed Ukraine to fire US, British and French missiles deep into Russia, Moscow would consider those NATO members to be directly involved in the war in Ukraine.

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‘Bomb Cyclone' Knocks Out Power to Over 600,000 Across Northwest US, Killing 1

A low pressure storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" forms off the coast of the US Pacific Northwest and western Canada in a composite satellite image November 19, 2024. CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS
A low pressure storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" forms off the coast of the US Pacific Northwest and western Canada in a composite satellite image November 19, 2024. CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS
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‘Bomb Cyclone' Knocks Out Power to Over 600,000 Across Northwest US, Killing 1

A low pressure storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" forms off the coast of the US Pacific Northwest and western Canada in a composite satellite image November 19, 2024. CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS
A low pressure storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" forms off the coast of the US Pacific Northwest and western Canada in a composite satellite image November 19, 2024. CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS

A major storm swept across the northwest US Tuesday evening, battering the region with strong winds and rain and causing widespread power outages and downed trees that killed at least one person, The Associated Press reported.

The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks through Friday and hurricane-force wind warnings were in effect as the strongest atmospheric river — a large plume of moisture — that California and the Pacific Northwest has seen this season overwhelms the region. The storm system is considered a “bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly.

Downed trees struck homes and littered roads across northwest Washington. In Lynnwood, Washington, a woman died Tuesday night when a large tree fell on a homeless encampment, South County Fire said in a statement on X. In Seattle, a tree fell onto a vehicle, temporarily trapping a person inside, the Seattle Fire Department reported. The agency later said the individual was in stable condition.
“Trees are coming down all over the city & falling onto homes,” the fire department in Bellevue, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) east of Seattle, posted on the social platform X. "If you can, go to the lowest floor and stay away from windows. Do not go outside if you can avoid it."
Early Wednesday, over 600,000 houses in Washington State were reported to be without power on poweroutage.us. But the number of outage reports fluctuated wildly throughout the evening likely due in part to several weather and utility agencies struggling to report information on the storm because of internet outages and other technical problems. It wasn’t clear if that figure was accurate. More than 15,000 had lost power in Oregon and nearly 19,000 in California.
As of 8 p.m., the peak wind speed was in Canadian waters, where gusts of 101 mph (163 kph) were reported off the coast of Vancouver Island, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle. Along the Oregon coast, there were wind gusts as high at 79 mph (127 kph) Tuesday evening, according to the National Weather Service in Medford, Oregon, while wind speed of 77 mph (124 kph) was recorded at Mount Rainier in Washington.
Winds were expected to increase in western Washington throughout the evening, the weather service said.
The national Weather Service warned people on the West Coast about the danger of trees during high winds, posting on X, “Stay safe by avoiding exterior rooms and windows and by using caution when driving.”
In northern California, flood and high wind watches were in effect, with up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain predicted for parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, North Coast and Sacramento Valley. Dangerous flash flooding, rock slides and debris flows were expected, according to the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center.
A winter storm watch was issued for the northern Sierra Nevada above 3,500 feet (1,066 meters), where 15 inches (28 centimeters) of snow was possible over two days. Wind gusts could top 75 mph (120 kph) in mountain areas, forecasters said.
The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for parts of southwestern Oregon through Friday evening, while rough winds and seas halted a ferry route in northwestern Washington between Port Townsend and Coupeville.
A blizzard warning was issued for the majority of the Cascades in Washington, including Mount Rainier National Park, starting Tuesday afternoon, with up to a foot of snow and wind gusts up to 60 mph (97 kph), according to the weather service in Seattle. Travel across passes could be difficult if not impossible.