BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA
Poland has formally withdrawn from the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty and announced plans to deploy and domestically manufacture both anti-personnel and anti-tank land mines as part of a sweeping effort to reinforce its eastern frontier against what it describes as a mounting threat from Russia.
The decision marks a significant shift in Poland’s defense posture and underscores the growing anxiety among countries bordering Russia since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Polish officials say the move is driven by national security imperatives and is intended to strengthen deterrence along NATO’s eastern flank.
The treaty, widely known as the Ottawa Convention, prohibits signatory states from using, stockpiling, producing or transferring anti-personnel mines. The weapons have long been criticized for their indiscriminate nature and their lasting impact on civilian populations, as unexploded devices can remain active for years after conflicts end. Countries such as Cambodia, Angola and Bosnia and Herzegovina have grappled with the devastating humanitarian legacy of land mines decades after wars concluded.
Poland ratified the convention in 2012 and completed the destruction of its anti-personnel mine stockpiles by 2016. However, Polish officials argue that the evolving security environment in Eastern Europe has fundamentally altered the calculus underpinning that earlier decision.
Paweł Zalewski, Poland’s deputy defense minister, said land mines would form a central component of a layered defensive system along the country’s borders with Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave to the north and Belarus to the east.
“These mines are one of the most important elements of the defense structure we are constructing on the eastern flank of NATO,” Zalewski said, describing Russia as a state with “very aggressive intentions vis-à-vis its neighbors.” He emphasized that Russia has never joined the Ottawa Convention and continues to retain and deploy such weapons.
Moscow is among nearly three dozen countries that have not acceded to the treaty, including the United States. In the wake of the war in Ukraine, several countries in the region have reassessed their treaty commitments. Last year, Warsaw joined Finland and the Baltic states — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — as well as Ukraine in announcing plans to withdraw from the convention.
Polish officials say the new policy includes a drive for domestic production capacity. Zalewski confirmed that Poland will begin manufacturing both anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, working in coordination with national defense firms. The aim, he said, is to achieve strategic self-sufficiency and ensure rapid scalability in times of crisis.
Anti-tank mines, designed to detonate under the weight of heavy vehicles rather than individuals, are not banned under the Ottawa Convention. Poland has already showcased technology intended to accelerate the deployment of such weapons. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said after observing a demonstration of the Bluszcz unmanned mine-laying vehicle — developed by defense manufacturer Belma S.A. in cooperation with a military research institute — that Poland would soon be capable of mining its eastern borders within 48 hours if necessary.
Given the length of Poland’s eastern frontier, which stretches hundreds of kilometers across varied terrain, Tusk noted that substantial quantities of mines would be required to establish an effective defensive barrier.
The proposed deployments would form part of the so-called Eastern Shield initiative, a broader system of reinforced fortifications and surveillance infrastructure that Poland has been constructing since 2024 along its borders with Belarus and Russia. The project includes physical barriers, expanded troop presence and enhanced monitoring capabilities.
Despite the policy shift, Polish officials insist that mines would not be laid preemptively. Zalewski stated that stockpiles would be prepared and maintained in reserve, to be deployed only in the event of what he described as a “realistic threat of Russian aggression.”
“We very much respect our territory and we don’t want to exclude it from day-to-day use for Polish citizens,” he said, adding that the government does not intend to militarize border regions under normal circumstances.
Human rights organizations have sharply criticized the decision, arguing that anti-personnel mines pose unacceptable risks to civilians and frequently cause long-term harm well beyond the duration of armed conflicts. Campaigners contend that the global norm against such weapons has saved countless lives and that withdrawals risk weakening international humanitarian standards.
Polish authorities counter that their approach seeks to balance humanitarian considerations with national defense requirements in an increasingly volatile security environment. Officials stress that Poland does not view itself as an aggressor but as a frontline state facing potential destabilization from the east.
“We are not an aggressive country,” Zalewski said. “But we have to use all means to deter Russia.”
The move signals a broader transformation in European defense policy as governments weigh longstanding arms control commitments against the perceived need for enhanced deterrence. For Poland, a country with a history deeply shaped by external invasion, the decision reflects a determination to fortify its borders amid continued uncertainty over the trajectory of the conflict in Ukraine and the future stability of the region.
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