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Poland volition usage antipersonnel arsenic good arsenic anti-tank onshore mines to support its eastbound borderline against the increasing menace from Russia, Poland's Deputy Defence Minister told The Associated Press connected Friday (February 20, 2026) arsenic the state officially near an planetary normal banning the usage of the arguable weapons.
The 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, besides known arsenic the Ottawa Convention, prohibits signatories from keeping oregon utilizing antipersonnel mines, which tin past for years and are known for having caused large-scale suffering among civilians successful erstwhile struggle zones successful countries including Cambodia, Angola and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Poland, which ratified the papers successful 2012 and completed the demolition of its home anti-personnel excavation stockpile successful 2016, withdrew from the pact connected Friday (February 20, 2026) and says it plans to renew manufacturing weapons.
“These mines are 1 of the astir important elements of the defence operation we are constructing connected the eastbound flank of NATO, successful Poland, connected the borderline with Russia successful the northbound and with Belarus successful the east,” Pawel Zalewski, Poland's Deputy Defence Minister, said.
He said Poland needed to support itself against Russia, a state which “has precise assertive intentions vis a vis its neighbours” and which itself ne'er committed to the planetary onshore excavation prohibition treaty.
Since Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine, adjacent countries person been reassessing their information successful the planetary treaty. Last year, Warsaw joined Finland, the 3 Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and Ukraine to denote it would permission the treaty.
Russia is 1 of astir 3 twelve countries that person ne'er acceded to the Ottawa treaty, alongside the United States.
Poland vows to marque its ain mines
Mr. Zalewski said that Poland volition statesman home accumulation of some antipersonnel and anti-tank onshore mines, adding that the authorities would cooperate with Polish producers. He said Poland was aiming for self-sufficiency.
Land mines are an explosive limb that's placed connected oregon conscionable nether the crushed and blows up erstwhile a idiosyncratic oregon a conveyance crosses implicit them. Anti-tank mines, which are designed not to beryllium triggered by a person's weight, are not forbidden by the Ottawa Convention.
Speaking connected Thursday (February 19, 2026) aft attending a objection of Bluszcz, an unmanned conveyance designed to administer anti-tank mines produced by Polish institution Belma SA and a subject probe institute, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland would “soon” person the quality to excavation its eastbound borders wrong 48 hours successful lawsuit of a threat.
Given the magnitude of the country's eastbound borders, helium said, “a lot” of onshore mines volition beryllium needed.
Poland says it volition lone usage mines successful lawsuit of realistic menace of Russian 'aggression'
Poland plans to hole excavation stockpiles arsenic portion of the alleged Eastern Shield, a strategy of enhanced fortifications Poland has been gathering connected its borders with Belarus and Russia since 2024, Mr. Zalewski said.
But helium said that Poland would lone deploy the mines on its borders “when determination is simply a realistic menace of Russian aggression.” “We precise overmuch respect our territory and we don't privation to exclude it from time to time usage for the Polish citizens,” Mr. Zalewski said.
Human rights groups person condemned moves to retreat from the Ottawa Convention, arguing that anti-personnel mines are excessively unsafe to civilians.
But Mr. Zalewski responded that the state is striking a equilibrium by keeping the mines successful reserve unless the state faces attack.
“We are not an assertive country,” helium said, “but we person to usage each means to deter Russia.”
