{"id":485613,"date":"2026-02-19T16:01:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T16:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/485613\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T16:01:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T16:01:15","slug":"poland-can-lay-anti-personnel-mines-in-48-hours-after-ottawa-treaty-exit-tusk-says-united24-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/485613\/","title":{"rendered":"Poland Can Lay Anti-Personnel Mines in 48 Hours After Ottawa Treaty Exit, Tusk Says \u2014 UNITED24 Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

Poland will be able to lay anti-personnel mines along its eastern border within 48 hours once its withdrawal from theOttawa Convention\u00a0 takes effect, Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated, according to Reuters on February 19.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tusk spoke ahead of Poland\u2019s formal exit<\/a> from the treaty on February 20, completing a six-month withdrawal process launched in August 2025 and clearing the way for Warsaw to use and produce anti-personnel mines that had been banned under the convention.<\/p>\n

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Poland intends to deploy the mines as part of its \u201cEast Shield\u201d\u00a0 project to bolster defenses along the borders with Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in the process of finalising this mine project, which is crucial for our security, for the security of our territory and border,\u201d Tusk told a press conference.<\/p>\n

In December, Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Zalewski stated that Poland would resume production of anti-personnel mines for the first time since the Cold War for domestic deployment and possible export to Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Poland\"<\/a>
\n A map highlights Poland\u2019s eastern frontier with Belarus and Russia\u2019s Kaliningrad region, including the Suwa\u0142ki Gap corridor between Kaliningrad and Belarus. (Source: GBNews)<\/p>\n

The move follows similar steps by Poland\u2019s Baltic neighbors, which have already completed their own withdrawals from the Ottawa Convention.<\/p>\n

They have also accelerated border fortifications under the Baltic Defense Line, including anti-tank ditches and the installation of concrete bunkers along vulnerable sections of the frontier with Russia.<\/p>\n

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Read more<\/p>\n

CategoryWar in Ukraine<\/a>A\u00a0New Landmine-Lined \u201cIron Curtain\u201d Rises on\u00a0NATO\u2019s Border to\u00a0Deter Russian Invasion<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Jul 15, 2025 11:14\n <\/p>\n

The push to leave the Ottawa Convention gathered<\/a> momentum after Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing deterioration in security along NATO\u2019s eastern flank, prompting Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to argue they needed greater flexibility to defend borders with Russia and Belarus, according to a joint statement by the four countries\u2019 defense ministers.<\/p>\n

Earlier, it was reported<\/a> that Ukraine advanced a formal withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, initiating legal procedures that would allow the country to resume the production, stockpiling, and use of anti-personnel landmines, with officials arguing the step was necessary to strengthen national defense capabilities.<\/p>\n

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We report the war as it unfolds directly from the people and places most affected by it. Your support helps us bring these stories to the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Poland will be able to lay anti-personnel mines along its eastern border within 48 hours once its withdrawal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[49,48,20739],"class_list":["post-485613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ottawa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}