Poland and the Baltic nations – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – announced on 19 March that they would withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, which bans anti-personnel mines, in response to Russia’s escalating military threat to NATO’s eastern flank. This move follows a unanimous recommendation from the defense ministers of these countries, who emphasized the need for greater flexibility in defending their borders and strengthening the alliance, according to Euronews. Warsaw also intends to return to more extensive use of cluster munitions.
Poland ratified the Ottawa Treaty in 2012, following Russia’s aggression against Georgia. According to Polish publication Defence24, Warsaw’s step represented the “peace dividend” after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and Soviet Union.
Poland and the Baltic States have declared they will continue to respect humanitarian law despite withdrawing from the treaty. Until the 1990s, standard pressure-activated anti-personnel mines were common in NATO countries, which were simultaneously signatories to the Geneva Conventions.
Production challenges
Defence24 notes that Poland must rebuild industrial potential for mass mine production and continuous improvement. The country cannot rely solely on simple mines from the previous century but needs modern “smart” solutions that can be remotely deactivated and signal their positions.
While smart mines with self-destruction mechanisms are optimal in many situations, classical anti-personnel mines remain irreplaceable in scenarios where operator-mine communication is impossible, such as after air-dropped mining, Defence24 says, adding that “this has been confirmed by lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine.”
According to Defence24, “Ukraine could become a very important supplier of anti-personnel mines to Poland before it builds up its capabilities.” During the war, Kyiv launched production of simple Soviet-derived mines that remain effective even when dropped from drones.
These mines are relatively inexpensive, and their production in Ukraine is easier than in EU countries. Poland should seek to rebuild basic mine stockpiles in cooperation with Ukraine, which could be implemented quickly after a ceasefire when Kyiv has unused production capacity.
“In parallel with the restoration of domestic capabilities, Poland should seek to rebuild a basic stockpile of mines in cooperation with Ukraine,” Defence24 wrote.
Defence24 noted that although Poland is not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the halt of component supplies by signatories, including France, forced Warsaw to stop production. This has impacted defense capabilities, but plans to resume production are being considered.
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