By Natalya Voznyak and AFP | 2025-04-08

WARSAW -- In light of increasing military threats in the countries bordering Russia and Belarus, Finland, the Baltic countries and Poland have decided to withdraw from the 1997 Ottawa Treaty banning the use, stockpiling and production of antipersonnel mines.

A fundamentally changed security environment in Europe prompted the decision, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said April 1.

"Finland and Europe need to evaluate all measures to strengthen our deterrence and defense capabilities, individually and in NATO," Orpo said at a news conference.

If Finland's parliament backs the government's decision, the withdrawal will go into effect six months after parliamentary approval.

Finland shares a 1,340km-long border with Russia, and has been ramping up its defense and border security since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In the wake of the invasion, the Nordic country dropped decades of military nonalignment and applied for NATO membership.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene welcomed Finland's plan to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty, saying in a Facebook post it was "a clear sign that the region is serious about strengthening defense and deterrence."

"The long-awaited and negotiated regional decision is now complete -- NATO countries bordering Russia are taking all the necessary measures to ensure that never again will the dirty boot of a Russian soldier cross our border," she said.

NATO's eastern flank

Orpo's announcement comes two weeks after four other NATO countries on the military alliance's eastern flank took a first step towards also quitting the treaty.

The defense ministers of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia issued a joint statement about the decision on March 18.

"With this decision, we are sending a clear message: our countries are prepared and can use every necessary measure to defend our territory and freedom," the statement reads.

This decision came after an announcement by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

"The world had many arguments for wanting to ban the use of these horrible weapons, but we're now in a situation where we are going to use every resource at our disposal to enhance our defense capability," Tusk said, addressing the Sejm, the lower house of Poland's parliament, on March 7.

Now, all European countries bordering Russia -- with the exception of Norway -- have announced plans to quit the Ottawa Treaty.

Russia has never signed the global treaty.

"We have no way out. The situation on the [Poland-Russia and Poland-Belarus] border is dangerous. [Mines] will be a component of the East Shield," Poland's Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Bejda told Radio RMF24 in an interview posted on X March 18.

Polish defense companies will produce the antipersonnel mines, he said.

"We're talking about several hundred thousand, perhaps even a million units," Bejda added.

The East Shield is an extensive defense program intended to defend Poland from a possible invasion from Russia and Belarus and to reinforce NATO's entire eastern flank.

Mines to be used 'solely for defense'

Withdrawing from the Ottawa Treaty is the right thing to do and a decision the countries were forced to make, say military analysts.

"Poland is a front-line country in a potential armed conflict with an aggressive Russia, which has not signed this agreement," Gen. Stanisław Koziej, former chief of Poland's National Security Bureau, told Kontur.

"Under those conditions we can't limit our defense options, and mines are a weapon solely for defense."

Since Poland is now implementing the robust East Shield program, using antitank and antipersonnel mines could play a central role in deterring and limiting the aggressor’s maneuvers, he said.

"It's important to precisely and reliably document where we rapidly laid mines, so that after the end of fighting, we could remove the mines and return mined terrain to peaceful use," he said.

The situation with Russia is not heading toward de-escalation, said Jacek Raubo, a Polish security and defense specialist and an analyst for the Defence24 portal.

For that reason, the withdrawal of the four NATO countries from the Ottawa Treaty is a natural step, he told Kontur.

"We must give ourselves a way to lay minefields in places where it will be essential to stop or slow the adversary," Raubo said. "Above all, we mean the border."

Slowing enemy advances

Antipersonnel mines have proven their worth on the battlefields in Ukraine, given the methods Russia is using, said Raubo.

"Russia is using a lot of infantry, and that doesn't stop it even when it has problems with armored vehicles. That's because it's cheaper to form such units from the infantry and throw them onto the frontline," he said.

"Unfortunately, we need to take that into account when we're talking about building Poland's defense."

Ukraine is able to mine territory that needs additional defense in order to slow a Russian offensive or stop an enemy advance that aims to seize new territory, Raubo said.

The Russians are doing the same thing but with a more brutal method.

"They're leaving behind a huge number of mines and booby traps that civilians will encounter," he said.