Poland is ready to place mines on its eastern border

Poland's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention means that in the event of a threat, it will be able to place anti-personnel mines along its eastern border within 48 hours, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday.

As most of Russia's European neighbors, except Norway, are preparing to withdraw from the treaty banning the production and use of anti-personnel mines, Poland plans to deploy them as part of its "Eastern Shield" project to secure its borders with Belarus and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

"We are in the process of finalizing this project, which is crucial for our security, for the security of our territory and borders," Tusk said at a press conference.

In December, Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Zalewski announced that Warsaw would resume production of anti-personnel mines for the first time since the Cold War in order to deploy them on its eastern border and potentially export them to Ukraine.

Poland began the process of withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention in August and will officially withdraw from the treaty after a six-month withdrawal period ending on February 20, 2026.

(reuters, max)