Poland has completed its exit from the Ottawa Convention, allowing the production and use of anti-personnel mines to strengthen its security on NATO's eastern flank.

Poland has officially announced its withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits anti-personnel mines, in response to the deterioration of security on NATO's eastern flank and the development of the "Eastern Shield" defense project. The decision came into effect on Friday, allowing Poland to produce and deploy anti-personnel mines, especially at the border with Belarus and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. Prime Minister Donald Tusk justified this measure, emphasizing the need to have all the tools to ensure national security. The "Eastern Shield" project, estimated at 2.3 billion euros, will allow for rapid mining of the border in case of threat. The Minister of Defense argued that Poland must maintain a military balance with Russia, which is using mines in Ukraine. Criticism from humanitarian organizations and the opposition has emerged, warning about the risks to civilians and migrants. Poland claims that the new mines will have self-destruction mechanisms and precise maps to minimize risks.