Since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine In February 2022, there was hardly a more urgent problem for NATO than the defense of its oriental borders.
Over the past three years, five of the six NATO countries that share a border with Russia or Bélarus – Finland,, Estonia,, LatviaLithuania and Poland– have already made significant investments to better secure these borders, for example with fences and surveillance systems.
But now a new plan is in preparation: terrestrial mines.
Member of East NATO increases border security
These five NATO countries have recently announced their withdrawal from the Ottawa ConventionThe 1997 Treaty which prohibits anti-personal mines worldwide and prohibits their use, their production and their transfer. Only Norway, which shares a border of almost 200 kilometers (124 miles) with Russiawants to stick to the treaty.
These mines are very controversial because they can be a danger for soldiers and civilians. Unsadoned mines remain a long -term threat After the end of a conflict: in 2023, nearly 6,000 people worldwide were killed or injured by land mines. Some 80% of victims were civilians, including many children.
Erase these explosive devices is dangerous, expensive and extremely long. According to the non-governmental organization Handicap International, 58 countries around the world and other regions are still contaminated by terrestrial mines, even if some of the underlying conflicts ended decades ago.
From the end of 2025, these five NATO countries could restart the production and storage of anti-personal mines near the border. In an emergency, these mines would then be deployed quickly.
While 164 countries of the world have signed the Ottawa Convention, 33 did not do so. In addition to the big powers WE And ChinaThis includes Russia. In fact, the Kremlin has by far the world’s largest stock of anti-personal mines, with around 26 million. Many of them are already used in Ukraine.
New “Iron Curtain”
From Finnish Lapland to the north to the Polish province of Lublin in the South, the border between the five NATO states and Russia and Russia and Russia and Russia and Russia and Russia and Russia and Russia and Russia and Russia and Russia and Russia and Russia and Russia and Russia Belarus Measures approximately 3,500 kilometers (2150 miles) long. Most of these areas are not very populated and densely wooded, which makes them difficult to monitor the area.
However, there is great concern about a possible Russian attack on NATO territory. According to a report by the British newspaper The telegraphNATO experts already analyze The areas could be targeted. The objective of NATO countries is to maximize deterrence: with other border security measures, mines are intended to inflict such heavy losses on the advanced enemy as soon as Moscow would abstain from prolonged war.
Several million mines and other hidden explosives would probably be necessary to effectively protect the long border. Large areas would become uninhabitable for decades, and potential damage to people and the environment are almost impossible to predict.
David Blair, foreign correspondent for The telegraphdescribed the plan as an explosive “iron curtain”, referring to the highly guarded border between NATO And the Warsaw Pact said during the Cold War. In addition to mines, NATO’s eastern states have already initiated many other measures, erected or strengthening border fences and walls, installing modern monitoring and early alert systems and strengthening troop contingents.
Some countries also plan to deploy drone defense systems along the border and deepen irrigation systems so that they can be used as an emergency. They also aim to plant trees along the important roads to provide camouflage to civilians and soldiers.
Are terrestrial mines “justified” or endangered?
LithuaniaTightened between the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Coast and the Belarus in the East, is particularly vulnerable. A 65 -kilometer narrow terrestrial connection – the Suwalki gap links the Baltic states and Poland, making the area a probable target for an initial Russian attack.
Vilnius therefore plans to invest around 800 million euros ($ 937 million) in the production of new land mines in the coming years. The Lithuanian Minister of Defense, Dovile Sakaline, defended the strategy, speaking of the “existential threat” against his country. Russia has increasingly manufactured mines in recent years, she explained, while Europe had destroyed its own stocks under the terms of the Ottawa Convention.
Eva Maria Fischer, a loss of advocacy at Handicap International Germany, believes that the land mines plan is a dangerous and worrying development. “Of course, the security problems of the Eastern European States can be justified in the current unstable international context,” said Fischer in March, when Poland and the three Baltic States announced for the first time their intention to withdraw from the treaty.
“However, sustainable security cannot be built on weapons that kill without discrimination, remain in the ground long after the end of a conflict and continue to mutilate civilians and destroy the means of subsistence,” she added. “There are alternatives to defend a country. These may seem more expensive, but they are not when you consider the huge costs of monitoring the use of anti-personal mines.”
This article was initially written in German.
