News brief

Ukraine to use antipersonnel land mines. The United States defense chief says the Biden administration will allow Ukraine to use American-supplied antipersonnel land mines to help it slow Russia’s battlefield progress in the war. It is Washington’s second major policy shift in a week after its decision to let Ukraine strike targets on Russian soil with U.S.-made missiles. The war reached its 1,000-day milestone Nov. 19 and has largely been going Russia’s way in recent months. Russia’s bigger army is slowly pushing Ukraine’s outnumbered army backward in the eastern Donetsk region.

Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to attack Russia comes at a time when its Western allies and Russia are gearing up for expected peace talks involving the coming Trump administration.