Poland, Baltics to Withdraw From Convention Banning the Use of Mines

Landmines pose a grave danger to civilians long after active combat ends (Flickr/UN Photo/Luke Powell).

The defense ministers of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, issued a joint statement withdrawing from the 1997 Ottawa Treaty, which bans the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of land mines, on Tuesday, March 18th. The treaty has 160 signatories including Ukraine, but notably absent are Russia, China, and the United States, according to the BBC. 

While Ukraine is a signatory to the treaty, it has received mines from the United States. Anti-personnel mines are essential for defensive warfare in Eastern Europe, as the flat farmland in much of Ukraine is difficult to defend without their use. They have proven essential in slowing Russia’s advance, especially as Ukraine deals with manpower shortages, according to the BBC.

The four nations decided to withdraw from the treaty because they feel increasingly threatened by Russia. In the years following the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War, they have increased their defense spending; Poland currently leads NATO in defense spending as a percentage of GDP, according to Reuters. These four countries all border Russia and make up a key part of NATO’s vulnerable eastern flank. The nations say that using landmines will give their soldiers more flexibility in defending themselves against Russia. 

Withdrawing from the treaty will allow the nations to begin stockpiling mines after the six-month withdrawal period. Finland has also said that it is considering withdrawing from the treaty; it shares an 833-mile-long border with Russia.

Anti-personnel mines require only minimal pressure to detonate and remain dangerous long after combat has concluded, posing an indiscriminate threat to civilians. Land mines have been previously used in conflicts in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Bosnia and kill thousands of innocent people every year around the world, especially children. While international organizations including the Red Cross have condemned the move, the four nations are planning to move ahead with the withdrawal.

Russia’s use of cluster munitions, which are a type of weapon that spreads many smaller bombs over a wide area, has pushed NATO’s eastern members towards more drastic measures to maintain their security. Cluster munitions are highly effective in warfare, but are problematic because 2-40% of the smaller bombs they distribute do not explode on impact, effectively becoming landmines that can explode years later, according to CSIS. Additionally, factors such as wind and human error can cause these smaller bombs to spread far outside the intended target area. The use, development, production, acquisition, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions are prohibited under the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), according to the UN. However, neither Russia, Ukraine, nor the United States are signatories to the CCM. Therefore, while ethically questionable, anti-personnel mines may be an essential component of security along NATO’s eastern flank, given Russia’s increasingly aggressive tactics in Ukraine.