Finland Plans to Buy One Million Landmines: Why Helsinki Is Rearming Its Border

Finland, long known for neutrality and careful diplomacy, has announced one of its most striking defense moves in decades. The Finnish Defence Forces plan to buy one million anti-personnel mines from domestic manufacturers, with roughly 100 million euros earmarked for the purchase. The goal is to have domestic production running by 2028.

From Treaty Member to Stockpiler

Finland joined the Ottawa Convention in 2012, the treaty banning anti-personnel mines, and went on to destroy more than one million of them. It was the last EU state to sign. Its withdrawal from the treaty took effect in January 2026, and preparations for the purchase began soon afterward. Army officials say about half a dozen Finnish companies could manufacture the mines.

The Russia Factor

Finland shares a border of roughly 1,340 kilometres with Russia, which makes it the longest frontier between NATO and Moscow. Finland dropped decades of non-alignment to join NATO in 2023, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has described Russia as a long-term threat to Finnish and European security, and officials argue that mines are an affordable deterrent. President Alexander Stubb framed the shift as part of Europe taking greater responsibility for its own defense.

Officials also stress that domestic production matters. A senior army officer has argued that Finnish-made mines could be supplied even in wartime, and that there are too few foreign sellers, since most countries remain bound by the treaty. Russia, which never joined the Ottawa Convention, has used mines in its war against Ukraine.

No Immediate Deployment

The army says it does not currently intend to place mines along the eastern border. Any deployment would be a government decision in a crisis. Finnish soldiers have already begun retraining in how to lay mines.

The Humanitarian Objection

Critics are alarmed. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines has urged the UN, the EU and the Red Cross to press Finland and Poland to abandon their plans. It notes that leaving the treaty does not oblige a country to produce or use mines, and that those are separate decisions governments can reverse. The group warns that renewed production could lead to wider use and exports. Anti-personnel mines cannot tell soldiers from civilians and can stay dangerous long after fighting ends, and children make up a large share of civilian casualties whose ages are known.

What Comes Next

Finland's decision reflects a wider shift among NATO's eastern members. Poland and the Baltic states have also moved away from the treaty, and Poland is reported to be planning to acquire millions of mines. Whether these stockpiles stay in warehouses as a deterrent or end up in the ground will shape both regional security and Europe's humanitarian standing.

For Finland, the calculation is clear: deterrence has returned to the center of national policy. For critics, the cost may be a weakening of one of the most successful humanitarian treaties of the modern era. Both sides agree that Europe's security map is being redrawn, and that the world will be watching how Helsinki handles the responsibility that comes with this decision.