Poland can mine border within 48 hours after Ottawa Convention exit, PM says


Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk holds a press conference during a signing event for the delivery of anti-aircraft systems capable of countering unmanned aerial vehicles in Kobylka, Poland, January 30, 2026. REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki

WARSAW, Feb 19 (Reuters) - ⁠Poland's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention means ⁠it will be able to lay anti-personnel mines ‌along its eastern border in the space of 48 hours if a threat emerges, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on ​Thursday, shortly before the withdrawal ⁠becomes effective.

As most of ⁠Russia's European neighbours except Norway move to leave the ⁠treaty ‌that bans the production and use of anti-personnel mines, Poland plans to deploy ⁠them as part of its "East Shield" project ​to secure ‌its borders with Belarus and the Russian enclave ⁠of Kaliningrad.

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