- Four front-line NATO allies are pulling out of a treaty banning landmines, citing Russian aggression.
- The Ottawa Convention was a post-Cold War effort to prohibit the production and use of anti-personnel mines.
- Landmines have seen widespread and aggressive use in the Ukraine war.
Four NATO members that share a border with Russia and its ally Belarus are backing out of an international treaty and lifting a ban on anti-personnel mines.
The move, they said, is intended to send a message to Russia that they'll use "every necessary measure" to defend themselves.
The defense ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland announced the decision on Tuesday, stating that since the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or Ottawa Convention, was ratified, the security situation in the region have deteriorated and threats to the countries bordering Russia and Belarus have increased.
"We believe that in the current security environment it is of paramount important to provide our defense forces with flexibility and freedom of choice of potential use of new weapon systems and solutions" to defend, the four members said.
The decision, they added, sent a clear warning to Russia. Despite the decision to withdraw, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland said they remained committed to respecting international humanitarian law, including protecting civilians in wartime.
The Ottawa Convention dates back to 1997 and was created to effectively end the production, use, and sale of deadly anti-personnel landmines worldwide, as well as the destruction and removal of any stockpiled ones. As of last fall, it had over 160 parties. The US, Russia, and China are notable non-signatories.
Landmines are relatively cheap, highly effective, and easily concealed weapons that have seen extensive use in the Ukraine war. During Ukraine's largely unsuccessful 2023 counteroffensive, Russia laid widespread swaths of explosives, slowing down Ukraine's advances as they worked to clear them. Russia has also been accused of planting mines near cities and civilian centers, such as leaving booby traps in Kherson when its forces pulled back.
Ukraine has used landmines, too, and the US, under former President Joe Biden, authorized sending the explosives to Ukraine.
Ukraine is now recognized as the most heavily mined country in the world; estimates suggest it will take decades and billions of dollars to neutralize them, assuming they can be completely cleared at all.
The work of clearing landmines is painstaking and dangerous. Ukrainian soldiers have often used atypical approaches to locate and destroy the explosives, such as fiberglass rods, and ropes and hooks. They also use drones and other robotic systems.
Throughout the Ukraine war, NATO countries closest to Russia have bolstered defense investments. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are spending more on defense than the alliance's suggested 2% of GDP. They've also looked at reinstating conscription.
They've also raised concerns that should Russia see its efforts in Ukraine as successful, it will rearm and could invade NATO members on its borders, triggering a war.
NATO allies in Europe are grappling with questions about US involvement and support as the Trump administration steps back from some of the European security commitments that it has previously taken on.
While campaigning for the 2024 election last year, Trump suggested he'd "encourage" Russia "to do whatever the hell they want" to NATO allies who aren't hitting the spending target. How that plays out remains to be seen, but Europe is beginning to take a hard look at its own security and defenses, especially the more vulnerable countries near Russia.
