Finland’s Plan to Buy One Million Anti‑Personnel Mines Revives Europe’s Landmine Debate
Finland intends to spend about €100 million on one million anti‑personnel landmines from domestic producers, aiming to start production by 2028, a move that strengthens its defence against Russia but clashes with Europe’s long‑standing campaign against such weapons.
Finland is preparing a major expansion of its landmine arsenal as part of its defence against Russia. Public broadcaster Yle reports that the Finnish Defence Forces plan to buy one million anti‑personnel landmines from domestic manufacturers, with around €100 million set aside for the purchase. The aim is to have local production up and running by 2028.
The decision comes soon after Finland joined NATO and ended decades of military non‑alignment, following Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine. With a long land border facing Russian territory, Finnish planners have always looked for ways to slow and channel a potential armoured advance through forests and rough ground.
For Finnish units, a large stock of anti‑personnel mines means thicker defensive belts in likely invasion corridors. For communities near those areas, it means living beside ground that would be mined in a crisis and could remain dangerous long after a conflict ends.
The move lands awkwardly in a Europe that has spent years funding mine clearance in former war zones and arguing against the use of anti‑personnel mines. Many European governments have treated these weapons as unacceptable because they can continue to maim and kill civilians long after fighting stops.
What is happening in other war zones shows why. In northern Raqqa, two Syrian Arab Army soldiers were injured, one seriously, when a landmine left behind by the ousted regime exploded during clearance work in Ain Issa town. That kind of blast, years after a front line has moved, is the type of risk critics cite when arguing against new mine deployments.
For NATO, Finland’s plan sends a mixed signal. It shows a new member is willing to invest heavily in its own land defence instead of relying on allies. It also asks partners to accept a step that many of their voters see as a step backwards on humanitarian grounds.
Nationally, Helsinki will have to defend the choice as a necessary response to a specific threat from Russia. Supporters will argue that dense minefields can buy time for reserves to mobilise and for allied forces to arrive. Opponents will stress the long‑term danger to civilians and the difficulty of fully clearing mined areas.
Key points to watch now are the precise specifications of the planned mines, how Finland explains the decision to European partners, and whether other front‑line states begin to consider similar steps. Reactions from Moscow will also be important, in case Russian officials use the announcement to justify changes in their own deployments along the Finnish border.
Sources
- OSINT