Latest news with #Bejda
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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.
Russia Today
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Poland to place banned mines on borders
Poland has announced plans to deploy anti-personnel landmines along its border with Russia and Belarus, citing concern about a potential Russian assault. Moscow has repeatedly denied having any intention of attacking the EU or NATO countries. Earlier this week, NATO members Poland, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania called for exiting the Ottawa Treaty, which prohibits anti-personnel mines, pointing to what they call a growing military threat from Russia. Before that, Warsaw had also announced a $2.6 billion 'Eastern Shield' project to beef up its borders. Speaking to local radio on Tuesday, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Bejda explained that Warsaw plans to place landmines along the country's frontiers with Belarus and Russia as part of the 'Eastern Shield' initiative. Poland shares a 144-mile border with Russia's Kaliningrad exclave. 'We have no choice,' Bejda told RMF24, adding that it will allow the country's defense industry to produce up to one million landmines. The Polish government has also announced plans for additional fortifications along its borders, including anti-tank obstacles and reinforced defensive positions. Beyond landmines, Poland has also considered other measures in response to the supposed Russian threat. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Donald Tusk suggested that Warsaw should acquire its own nuclear weapons. Moscow has repeatedly ridiculed Western claims that it intends to attack NATO or EU states, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed such statements as 'nonsense.' He has also suggested that the supposed threat of a Russian attack is being used by European politicians to scare their citizens in order to extract more resources from them and justify increased military spending. Meanwhile, Russian officials have also blasted the EU's increasing militarization as reckless and escalatory. Earlier this month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that the confrontational rhetoric and plans coming out of Brussels and European capitals could hamper the chances of finding a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poland wants to plant landmines on its borders with Russia and Belarus
Poland plans to plant anti-personnel mines on its borders with Russia and Belarus as part of the East Shield project, Polish Deputy Defence Minister Paweł Bejda has said. Source: European Pravda, citing Polish news portal RMF24 Quote from Bejda: "We have no other choice. The situation on the border is serious. I'm talking about the Polish-Belarusian and Polish-Russian border... It will be one of the elements of the East Shield." Details: He added that Poland does not have anti-personnel mines but has "the capacity to produce them". "This [the production of landmines] will be carried out by the factories of the Polish Armed Group, but I don't want to go into details. We're talking about an order for several hundred thousand, we can talk about a million [units - ed.]," Bejda said. Bejda's remarks come as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland announced their intention on 18 March to withdraw from the Ottawa Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. Background: Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna previously commented on the Baltic states' and Poland's intention to withdraw from the convention banning anti-personnel mines. He argued that it is wrong for them to "forbid ourselves from using weapons that Russia is willing to use against us". Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
