Finland withdraws from Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention
Photo: The exit allows the country to reintroduce anti-personnel mines into the army's arsenal (Getty Images)
On Saturday, January 10, Finland's decision to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines came into force, Yle reports.
The Finnish government officially withdrew from the treaty on July 10, 2025. The country justified its decision on defense grounds, citing the deterioration of the security situation.
"Under the terms of the convention, a withdrawal takes effect six months after the United Nations secretary-general has received the instrument of denunciation,” the media outlet writes.
Thus, the official withdrawal from the convention took place today. The withdrawal allows Finland to reintroduce anti-personnel mines into its armed forces' arsenal.
Withdrawal from Ottawa Convention
Similar steps to withdraw from the convention have been taken by other countries, such as Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland.
On June 29, 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also signed a decree on Ukraine's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines.
On the same day, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry explained that the country had complied with the provisions of the convention since 2005, but the Russian invasion had put Ukraine in an unequal situation, as Russia had not signed the document.
In July, MP and member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security Fedir Venislavskyi announced that Ukrainian manufacturers had already begun production of anti-personnel weapons.
