A new international report shows a persistent surge in both fatalities and injuries, driven by ongoing violence in several regions and the growing number of states withdrawing from the longstanding global treaty banning anti-personnel landmines.

The data indicates more than 6,000 landmine-related incidents last year, marking the highest figure since 2020.

Nearly 90 percent of the victims were civilians, demonstrating the continued impact of these explosive remnants on communities far removed from active frontlines.

Women and children accounted for almost half of those harmed, underscoring the multi-generational nature of landmine risk.

Humanitarian observers say the numbers reflect both renewed conflict and the increasing presence of leftover ordnance in areas where displaced people are returning.

Syria and Myanmar recorded some of the most severe spikes, driven by intensified fighting and the unsafe return of residents to previously contested territories.

In Syria, unexploded ordnance remains scattered across former battlegrounds, posing immediate danger to families rebuilding their lives.

Myanmar, meanwhile, reported more than 2,000 incidents, the highest globally. Both state military forces and armed groups have been cited in the report for extensive mine deployment across several regions.

The Mine Ban Treaty, which came into force in 1999, currently binds 166 countries and prohibits the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel mines. It also obligates member states to clear contaminated land and provide assistance to survivors.

However, several European nations have begun legal processes to withdraw from the treaty, citing heightened security concerns and rising geopolitical tensions.

This shift has raised alarms among disarmament advocates who warn that the trend could weaken the decades-old global norm against landmine use.

Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland are among the states moving toward formal withdrawal, prompted by what they describe as growing military threats.

Analysts say the departure of these countries could set a precedent that undermines broader international commitments to mine prohibition.

Ukraine also announced its exit earlier this year, with officials arguing that the move would support defensive operations amid ongoing conflict.

Military experts say the withdrawal may significantly alter the regional security landscape as the war continues.

The report additionally cites new instances of mine use in Ukraine, alongside allegations exchanged between Thailand and Cambodia following a border clash last July.

Cambodia denies deploying anti-personnel mines, while Thailand maintains its claims based on debris found in affected areas.

Russia and Myanmar, both non-signatories to the treaty, remain among the most extensive users of landmines according to the findings.

Their continued reliance on these weapons contributes to widespread contamination and long-term risks for civilians.

Another concern highlighted in the report is the decline in donor funding for mine clearance and survivor assistance programs.

Several major funding contributors have reduced support, resulting in the scaling back of humanitarian projects in multiple countries.

Budget cuts, including reductions in global assistance programs, have slowed clearance operations and forced some initiatives to shut down entirely.

Aid groups warn that without sustained funding, casualty numbers may continue to climb in coming years.

Member states to the Mine Ban Treaty are meeting in Geneva this week to discuss the rising challenges and reaffirm commitments to the treaty’s obligations.

Delegates are expected to examine the implications of recent withdrawals and the urgent need to strengthen international cooperation.

Humanitarian organizations emphasize that landmines continue to endanger communities long after fighting ends.

They call for renewed political will, sustainable funding, and broader adherence to the global ban to prevent future loss of life.

The capture of all of Donetsk is a key aim of the war for Russia, which currently controls over 70% of the region.

Russia’s spring and summer offensives this year have failed to meet their goals, Ukraine’s military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said, adding that Russia was firing twice as much artillery as Ukraine on the battlefield.

“It can be said that the Russians’ spring and summer campaign has effectively been disrupted,” Syrskyi told reporters at a meeting.

Russia has been making incremental gains across several parts of the front line, after large-scale deployment of reconnaissance and attack drones has prevented quick progress of the sort seen in 2022.

Ukraine says the small advances are coming at a high human cost. Both sides in the war only rarely discuss casualties, but some Western intelligence estimates put the number of killed and wounded in Ukraine at more than one million.

Small Russian infantry assaults

Syrskyi said the active front line was now 1,250 km (777 miles) long, and that an estimated 712,000 Russian personnel were involved in the fighting in Ukraine.

Syrskyi said Russian plans to create a “buffer zone” in Sumy and Kharkiv regions in the north and northeast, to take the city of Pokrovsk and to capture all of Donetsk region had failed.

The capture of all of Donetsk is a key aim of the war for Russia, which currently controls over 70% of the region.

Syrskyi said that since the beginning of summer the Russians had been attacking with a tactic that he called “a thousand cuts” – a high number of tiny infantry assaults.

“This consists of the simultaneous use of a large number of small assault groups – 4-6 servicemen who advance using the terrain, ravines, and wooded areas, with the main aim of penetrating as deeply as possible into our territory.”

Speaking about a Russian breakthrough in August near the Donetsk town of Dobropillia, Syrskyi said Ukraine had cut off Russian forces along the Kazenyi Torets river in what he called a “trap”.

Sudden change in Trump’s rhetoric

The commander added that in the last two months, Ukraine had hit 85 military or military-industrial facilities on Russian territory, including air bases, depots and factories.

This week, U.S. President Donald Trump suddenly changed his view of the war from one where he said Kyiv had no cards to play to one where Ukraine could take back all of the ground it has lost so far – roughly 20% of its total territory.

He did not, however, offer substantial new assistance to Ukraine to achieve these goals and has shifted the onus on to European allies.

Russia says,it is advancing in Ukraine and that Kyiv would be best advised to negotiate peace sooner rather than later. Ukraine has rejected Russia’s terms for negotiations, saying they would amount to surrender.