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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says Warsaw will soon be able to mine its eastern borders with Russia as his country officially exited the Ottawa Convention banning the use of land mines on Friday.
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On Thursday, Tusk presented the Bluszcz or “Ivy,” a hybrid mine layer designed for stealth and autonomy, which Poland plans to debut as it boosts its capabilities on its eastern flank.
“Today, you saw a brief presentation of the capabilities of the Bluszcz system. We are in the process of finalising this mine project within the East Shield, which is crucial to our security, our territory, and our border,” said Tusk.
“This also includes the capability we will soon achieve – the ability to mine the Polish border in the event of a threat within 48 hours.”
Warsaw joined Finland, Ukraine and the three Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to announce it would formally withdraw from the international convention in August last year, citing a need to use land mines to bolster their border defences.
They fear their countries could be targeted next by Russia, which never signed the treaty, as its ongoing war in Ukraine shows no signs of waning.
The move was criticised as many remain concerned with the pivot back to land mines, which have historically been extremely detrimental to civilians.
Anti-personnel mines are known for having caused significant civilian casualties in post-conflict countries such as Cambodia, Angola, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Ottawa Convention, signed in 1997 to protect civilians, only covers anti-personnel mines, meaning other types like anti-tank mines, which require a heavier weight to trigger, are allowed under the deal.
Nearly three dozen countries have never acceded to the convention, including some key current and past producers and users of land mines such as the US, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Russia.
Poland ratified the Ottawa Convention in 2012 and completed the destruction of its domestic anti-personnel mine stockpile in 2016.
But its political leaders have been speaking about resuming domestic production as soon as the country is formally out of the Ottawa treaty.
Officials have said that strips of land mines might be included between other defensive physical elements making up the so-called Eastern Shield, a system of enhanced fortifications Poland has been building on its borders with Belarus and Russia since 2024.
Additional sources • AP
