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Poland has announced plans to resume production of anti-personnel mines, a move not seen since the Cold War era.
The weapons are intended for deployment on its eastern border and could potentially be exported to Ukraine, According to the Deputy Defense Minister.
The decision is in line with a broader regional trend, as almost all European countries bordering Russia except Norway have signaled their intention to withdraw from the global treaty banning such weapons.
Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Zalewski gave information reuters He Poland aims to strengthen its borders with Belarus and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
“We are interested in large quantities as quickly as possible,” Mr Zalewski said, adding that the mines would form part of the ‘East Shield’ defensive initiative.
Asked about the possibility of production starting next year, after the withdrawal process from the Ottawa Convention is completed, Mr. Zalewski replied: “I would very much like to do so… We have such needs.”
Poland began the process of withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention in August and previously said it could begin producing anti-personnel mines if needed, but no formal decision was made.
Zalewski’s comments are the first confirmation from Warsaw that it will proceed with the move.
According to the Landmine and Cluster Munitions Monitor, Poland told the United Nations in 1995 that it had stopped producing anti-personnel mines in the mid-1980s and that exports of such weapons had ceased.
State-owned company Belma, which already supplies many other types of mines to the Polish military, said Poland would be equipped with millions of mines under the East Shield program to secure its 800 km (500 mi) eastern border.
“We are preparing for Polish demand… for 5-6 million mines of all types,” Belma CEO Jaroslaw Zakrzewski told Reuters.
He said that, although the Defense Ministry has not yet placed an order, the company will be able to produce 1.2 million mines of all types, including anti-personnel mines, next year. Belma currently produces about 100,000 mines per year.
The minister said the supply of mines to Ukraine will depend on production capacity.
“Our starting point is our own needs. But for us Ukraine is absolutely a priority because the European and Polish security line is on the Russia-Ukraine front,” Zalewski said.
Belma’s Zakrzewski said exports to Ukraine were possible and that NATO countries bordering Russia, including the Baltic states, had already indicated interest in purchasing the anti-personnel mines.
He said Poland’s own needs would be prioritized, but any excess production could be supplied to allies in the region.
Earlier this year, Lithuania and Finland said they expected to start producing anti-personnel mines next year amid growing concerns about Russia planning a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Latvia and Estonia are also leaving the pact but have not announced production plans, although officials in Riga said they could quickly start manufacturing if needed and that Estonia sees it as a future option.
According to the Polish Foreign Ministry, production of the Polish anti-personnel mine could begin after the treaty’s six-month withdrawal period is completed on February 20, 2026.
Ukraine has also announced that it is withdrawing from the 1997 Ottawa Convention, so that it can better defend itself against Russia, which is not party to the treaty. Each side has accused the other of using anti-personnel landmines during the war.
Other major powers that have not signed the treaty include the United States and China.