Poland has withdrawn from a treaty banning antipersonnel mines, using them to defend against Russia

Poland will use antipersonnel and anti-tank land mines to defend its eastern border against a growing threat from Russia, Poland’s deputy defense minister said. Associated Press On Friday (February 20, 2026) the country formally left the international convention banning the use of the controversial weapons.

The 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, bans signatories from placing or using anti-personnel mines, which has been around for years and is known for causing large-scale civilian suffering in pre-conflict areas in countries including Cambodia, Angola and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Poland, which ratified the document in 2012 and completed destroying its domestic anti-personnel mine stockpile in 2016, pulled out of the deal on Friday (Feb 20, 2026) and said it plans to resume manufacturing weapons.

“These mines are one of the most important elements of the defense structure we are building on NATO’s eastern flank, in Poland, on the border with Russia to the north and Belarus to the east,” said Poland’s Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Zalewski.

He said Poland needed to defend itself against Russia, a country that “has very aggressive intentions towards neighboring countries” and has never adhered to the international land mine ban treaty.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, neighboring countries have reassessed their participation in the international agreement. Last year, Warsaw announced it was withdrawing from the agreement with Finland, the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and Ukraine.

Along with the United States, Russia is one of nearly three dozen countries that have never acceded to the Ottawa Treaty.

Poland has vowed to build its own mines

Mr Zalewski said Poland would start domestic production of anti-personnel and anti-tank land mines, and the government would cooperate with Polish producers. Poland is aiming for self-sufficiency, he said.

Land mines are explosive weapons that are placed on or just below the ground and detonate when a person or vehicle passes over them. Anti-tank mines, designed not to be triggered by the weight of a person, are not prohibited by the Ottawa Convention.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Thursday (February 19, 2026) that Poland will “soon” contain the threat of mines on its eastern border within 8 hours, after attending a demonstration of Bluszcz, an unmanned vehicle designed to deliver anti-tank mines produced by Polish company Belma SA and a military research institute.

Given the length of the country’s eastern borders, “a lot” of land mines would be needed, he said.

Poland says it will only use mines in the event of a real threat of Russian ‘aggression’

Poland plans to prepare mine reserves as part of the so-called Eastern Shield, a system of improved fortifications Poland is building on its borders with Belarus and Russia starting in 2024, Mr. Zalewski said.

But he said Poland would deploy mines along its borders “only when there is a real threat of Russian aggression”. “We respect our territory very much and do not want to exclude it from daily use for Polish citizens,” Mr. Zalewski said.

Human rights groups condemned the move to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, arguing that anti-personnel mines are too dangerous for civilians.

But Mr. Zalewski countered that the country was striking a balance by keeping mines in reserve in case the country was not attacked.

“We are not an aggressive country, but we must use all means to deter Russia,” he said.