Finland seeking one million land mines as it eyes Russian threat

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkPrime Minister Petteri Orpo has called Russia, which sits on Finland's eastern edge, a long-term threat [File: Michele Tantussi / Getty Images]By Al Jazeera Staff and AFPPublished On 19 Oct 202619 Oct 2026Finland is seeking to acquire one million anti-personnel mines.The plan to spend 100 million euros ($112 million) on the munitions comes after Helsinki and regional peers withdrew from a United Nations compact rejecting their use.Recommended Stories list of 2 itemslist 1 of 2Finland shelters under French nuclear umbrella amid Russian, US uncertaintylist 2 of 2Finland orders halt to work on Google data centre sitesend of listWith Moscow increasingly accused of mounting hybrid warfare against supporters of Ukraine, and possibly planning military provocations, Finland exited the Ottawa Convention last year.Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, all also among the staunchest allies of Ukraine, also quit the agreement, citing the potential threat from Moscow.Colonel Riku Mikkonen of the Army Command told Finland’s national news agency STT that officials are now gathering information from suppliers regarding the deal, the AFP news agency reports.Helsinki would like domestic manufacturers to supply the mines, with contracts signed by the end of 2027 and production up and running by 2028.“It would be useful in many ways if Finnish companies produced the anti-personnel mines in Finland,” Mikkonen said. About half a dozen Finnish firms qualify, he told STT.“However, at this stage, buying the mines from abroad is not totally ruled out,” he added.Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, left, and European Council President Antonio Costa speak ahead of a round table as part of a European Union summit in Brussels [AFP]Finland joined the Ottawa Convention, a humanitarian treaty aimed at eliminating anti-personnel landmines and destroying more than a million of them, in 2012.However, it announced that it was withdrawing in April 2025, citing a worsening security climate, and stopped being bound by the treaty in January.Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has called Russia, which sits on Finland’s eastern edge, a long-term threat.Finland shares a border of roughly 1,340 kilometres (830 miles) with Russia. It has beefed up its defences since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and reported that migrants have been pushed across from the east.Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Monday urged the EU to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians until the war ends.“As long as Russia continues its invasion, Russian citizens should not be issued tourist visas,” she said, adding that it is “not right” for Russians to enjoy Europe’s freedoms “while their country bombs the homes of Ukrainians”.Valtonen noted that Schengen countries granted nearly half a million tourist visas to Russians in 2025. Finland banned such visas in 2022, and she argued the rest of the bloc should follow suit.