Finland plans to buy one million anti-personnel mines to protect against Russia

The Finnish Defence Forces are planning to purchase 1 million anti-personnel mines from manufacturers. About 100 million euros are planned for purchase. This is reported by the publication “Business Petersburg” with reference to the news agency STT.

Preparations for the purchase began in January, after the entry into force of Finland’s withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, which bans anti-personnel mines. Colonel Riku Mikkonen said there are "half a dozen companies" in the country that have the capacity to mass produce mines by 2028.

This is not just about large defense plants that produce shells. Some components are also planned to be ordered from civil enterprises of the engineering and metalworking industries.

The decision to purchase mines domestically is partly due to the limited choice of foreign suppliers. Most of Finland's partner countries are still party to the Ottawa Convention and therefore cannot produce or use anti-personnel mines.

Among the countries with which Finland traded defense materials and which are not part of the agreement are the United States, South Korea and Israel. Riku Mikkonen also noted that Finnish mines may be interested in the Baltic States and Poland. In 2025-2026, they officially withdrew from the Ottawa Agreement.

The Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Storage, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines was adopted in 1997. Finland joined in 2011. On July 1, 2012, the agreement entered into force, and at the same time the Finnish military abandoned this type of weapon.

The issue of returning mines to the arsenal in 2024 was raised by Finnish President Alexander Stubb. The reason he called the alleged threats from Russia. In June 2025, the parliament approved the country’s withdrawal from the convention. From 10 January 2026, this decision came into force.

In April, the Russian Embassy in Helsinki noted that the Finnish army could use mines near the border with Russia. A significant part of the border passes through sparsely populated wooded areas, as well as territories with lakes and swamps, which makes it difficult to control.

In 2024, the Polish authorities announced the Eastern Shield project and their intention to mine the border with Russia. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are planning similar measures as part of the creation of the so-called Baltic defense line.