Poland eyes 1 million landmines for borders with Belarus, Russia
WARSAW, Poland — The Polish government has unveiled plans to boost domestic landmine production following an announcement that the country, along with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, would pull out the Anti-Personnel Mines Convention, also known as the Ottawa Treaty,
Polish Deputy Defence Minister Paweł Bejda said the country would launch production of the weapons in a bid to safeguard the country's eastern borders with Russia and Belarus.
'We want these mines to be produced in Poland, we have such capacities. The issue at hand is to increase such capacities … and we treat equally the private defense industry and the state-owned one,' Bejda told local radio broadcaster RMF FM in an interview.
The Polish military needs landmines 'in the range of several hundred thousand, even up to 1 million' units, he said.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has stated the process of withdrawing from the convention will involve the country's Cabinet, parliament and president, and end with a notification to the United Nations. Following the notification, the withdrawal procedure could take around six months, he said.
Asked for details on which companies could produce landmines, the deputy defense minister said that Poland's state-run defense group PGZ will be involved in the manufacturing.
Meanwhile, Latvia is 'looking into all possible options when it comes to strengthening Latvia's deterrence and defense capabilities,' Latvian Defence Minister Andris Sprūds said in a statement.
The Baltic nation 'must prepare as Russia continues to pose a serious threat to the region, regardless of how hostilities in Ukraine develop. Withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention has the potential to ensure the production of anti-personnel mines,' Sprūds said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Poland's new president backs Ukraine but stresses historical disputes
Poland's newly elected President Karol Nawrocki has expressed hope for continued close partnership with Ukraine, stressing the need to resolve "overdue historical issues" between the two nations. Source: Nawrocki in a statement on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda Details: Nawrocki's statement responded to congratulations from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who anticipated fruitful cooperation with Poland's new leader. "I am looking forward to continue partnership of our countries, based on mutual respect and understanding. I believe it requires not only good dialogue but also solving overdue historical issues," he said. Nawrocki underscored Poland's role as a steadfast ally in Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression. Quote from Nawrocki: "Poland has been Ukraine's strongest supporter against the Russian aggression, no other nation understands this threat more than we do". More details: The Polish president expressed optimism for collaborative efforts to strengthen bilateral relations. "I hope we'll continue to work together for the common good, for settling the unsettled past and building a safe future together", he concluded. The statement comes amid Kyiv's cautious outlook on Nawrocki's presidency, given his prior comments on historical grievances and scepticism toward Ukraine's NATO and EU integration. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
The Ukraine war is showing Polish paratroopers that light infantry skills still matter, general says
NATO militaries are watching the Ukraine war and using the conflict to inform training. A top Polish general said he's learning that light infantry skills are still very important. "It must be developed better," Brig. Gen. Michal Strzelecki told BI. In a war where tanks struggle to move without drawing the attention of a drone, missions sometimes fall more to small, agile, light infantry units. That's one of many lessons that NATO militaries are taking from the Ukraine war. A top Polish general overseeing the country's paratroopers said that a big takeaway is that light infantry skills, like those brought by airborne forces, still matter. Brig. Gen. Michal Strzelecki, commander of Poland's 6th Airborne Brigade, told Business Insider that he is seeing in Ukraine "a kind of refreshment of the light infantry skills." Light infantry troops are rapidly deployable forces. They can move quickly and fight without the support of heavy armored vehicles, like tanks or infantry fighting vehicles. These troops are often lightly armed and equipped for versatility and swift, flexible operations that include surprise attacks and raids. For airborne forces, missions can involve insertion operations from planes or helicopters. US and other NATO forces used highly mobile light infantry for remote patrols and small-unit engagements during counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Ukraine war, as a large-scale conventional fight, is very different from America's post-9/11 conflicts, but the war is showing that there is still a role for lighter infantry forces and a need for those skills in big potential future fights. For instance, mobile light infantry units operating between strongpoints played an invaluable role in helping defend Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region during the early days of the full-scale invasion. Light infantry was also involved in urban warfare operations around the eastern city of Bakhmut. And in multiple instances, airborne and air assault brigades have conducted successful night assaults, small-unit ambushes, and rapid strategic deployments. Speaking on the sidelines of the Lively Sabre 25 exercise in southern Finland last week, Strzelecki said fighting in Europe has been historically heavily focused on maneuver warfare, "which requires a lot of, let's say, mechanized units, armored units." Tanks played a prominent role in both World War I and World War II, supporting dismounted infantry forces by delivering an armored punch to break through enemy lines. During the Cold War, Soviet armored assets were a major concern for NATO and factored into how allies developed their own armored capabilities. And amid the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s, tanks and other armor again found themselves useful in the European theater. Strzelecki said that the Ukraine war shows that the skills of light infantry units have not been forgotten. "It must be developed better, and this is what we are doing in the 6th Airborne. We are very focused on [those kinds] of operations." "We are light infantry, airborne infantry. So that's why we have to be focused on that," he added. The scarred battlefields of Ukraine have been far less permissive for tank and armor operations than some other conflicts. Not only have the Soviet tank designs struggled, but so have top Western tanks like the American Abrams and German Leopards. Heavy Russian defenses during Ukraine's 2023 counteroffensive derailed Ukrainian efforts to breach enemy positions with armor and mechanized or motorized infantry assaults. Forces sometimes abandoned their vehicles and took the fight to the enemy on foot. Light infantry assaults saw mixed results. The situation for armored assets has only become more difficult with time and the growing proliferation of uncrewed systems. The Ukraine war has been defined by the heavy use of drones, enabling near-constant surveillance and atypical strike options. This is a difficult operating environment for armored vehicles. Thousands of these combat vehicles have been damaged and destroyed, with many taken out by small drones strapped with explosives. Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Netherlands to hold snap elections after coalition falls apart
The Netherlands is set to hold new elections after the collapse of the governing coalition on Tuesday, Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced, hours after Geert Wilders' far-right party exited the government amid a dispute over migration policy. Populist firebrand Wilders threatened on Sunday to pull out his anti-Islam Party of Freedom (PVV) - the strongest force in parliament - unless the four-party coalition led by independent Schoof agreed to his demands for a crackdown on immigration. His party's 10-point plan included measures such as the closure of Dutch borders to asylum seekers, the closure of asylum seeker reception centres and an end to family reunification for recognized refugees. "No sign-off for our asylum plans, no adjustment of the coalition agreement. The PVV is leaving the coalition," Wilders announced earlier on Tuesday after failed consultations with the other parties on Monday evening. Opposition politicians immediately called for new elections following the PVV's exit from government, though the remaining three parties could potentially continue as an even more fragile minority government.
