Poland to start producing anti-personnel mines to be placed along the eastern border

Poland has decided to start producing anti-personnel mines for the first time since the Cold War and plans to deploy them along its eastern border and possibly export them to Ukraine. This was reported by the agency Reuters with reference to Polish Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Zalewski.

Joining a broader regional trend in which almost all European countries bordering Russia, except for Norway, have announced plans to withdraw from the global treaty banning such weapons, Poland wants to use anti-personnel mines to strengthen its borders with Belarus and Russia.

"We are interested in large quantities as soon as possible," Zalewski said.

According to him, the anti-personnel mines will be part of the Eastern Shield program aimed at strengthening Poland's borders with Belarus and the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation.

When asked about the possibility of starting mine production next year, after the process of withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention is completed, Zalewski replied: "I would very much like this to happen. We have such a need."

Poland began the process of withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention in August and has previously stated that it could resume production of anti-personnel mines if necessary, but no formal decision has been made. Zalewski's comments are the first confirmation from Warsaw that it will continue this process, the article says.

According to the Landmine and Cluster Munitions Monitor, Poland informed the United Nations in 1995 that it had stopped producing anti-personnel mines in the mid-1980s.

Belma, a state-owned company that already supplies the Polish army with several other types of mines, has announced that Poland will be equipped with millions of mines under the Eastern Shield program to secure its 800-kilometer eastern border.

"We are preparing for Polish demand, which may amount to 5-6 million mines of all types," said Belma CEO Jaroslaw Zakrzewski.

He added that although the Ministry of Defense has not yet placed an order, the company will be able to produce up to 1.2 million mines of all types, including anti-personnel mines, next year.

Zalevsky clarified that the supply of mines to Ukraine will depend on production capacity.

"Our starting point is our own needs. But for us, Ukraine is definitely a priority, because the European and Polish security line runs on the Russian-Ukrainian front," the official added.

At the same time, Zakrzewski noted that exports to Ukraine are possible and that NATO countries bordering Russia, including the Baltic States, have already expressed interest in buying anti-personnel mines.

He said that Poland's own needs would be prioritized, but that any excess production could be supplied to allies in the region.

• On March 19, the Polish Ministry of Defense stated that Warsaw has plans to place anti-personnel mines on the border with Russia and Belarus as part of the Eastern Shield program.
• June 27 Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia officially informed the UN withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention prohibiting the use of anti-personnel mines.
• On June 29, Zelenskyy signed decree of withdrawal Ukraine's withdrawal from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention.