Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen: We will reintroduce anti-personnel mines and start a dialogue with the Finnish industry
Finland’s withdrawal from the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (Ottawa Convention) took effect on 10 January 2026. The Finnish defence administration will start planning the reintroduction of anti-personnel mines into the range of Finland’s defence capabilities.
The decision to supplement the range of capabilities available to the Finnish Defence Forces by reinstating anti-personnel mines is based on an analysis of Finland’s defence needs in the deteriorating security policy situation. Large-scale, protracted warfare returned to the European continent when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“Russia’s fierce and brutal land warfare operations in Ukraine show its willigness to use infantry regardless of losses. Anyone keeping up with the war in Ukraine will know that traditional infantry has remained decisive despite technological leaps. New weapons systems, such as drones, have not fully replaced conventional weapons,” Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen said.
Commissioned by the Ministry of Defence, the Finnish Defence Forces reviewed the need and possibilities to supplement Finland’s defence capabilities based on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine. Anti-personnel mines were one of the focal points of the analysis alongside other weapons systems. Drawing on this military review and a defence policy analysis, the Ministry of Defence decided to propose to the Government that Finland should initiate the process of withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention.
Broad societal support for reinstating anti-personnel mines
“I am pleased that there was such a broad support in society for the Ministry of Defence’s proposal to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention. To me, it shows that Finns understand that the security situation has changed since the time we joined the Convention,” Minister Häkkänen said.
In June 2025, the Finnish Parliament approved the Government proposal to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention with 157 votes for and 18 votes against. The period of withdrawal started when Finland submitted its instrument of withdrawal to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who serves as the Depository of the Convention. Throughout this period, Finland was fully bound by its obligations under the Convention.
Finland’s withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention took effect on 10 January 2026, and Finland can now start planning the reintroduction of anti-personnel mines. A set of associated amendments to national legislation, repealing the criminalisation of the use, stockpiling and production of anti-personnel mines, entered into force on the same day.
“We will immediately start preparing anti-personnel mine training for conscripts and reservists and the launching of domestic production. It is important for Finland’s military security of supply that we have a sovereign capability in anti-personnel mines in all security situations. That is why I put great store by the ablity of the Finnish defence industry to produce these mines. Finland also has the necessary expertise to produce and develop next-generation smart mines. We will be initiating this dialogue with the industry soon,” Häkkänen said.
As the Finnish defence industry possesses the necessary expertise, it is very likely that Finland will procure its anti-personnel mines from Finnish suppliers. The mines will be procured as cost-effectively as possible as part of a wider process of modernising the defence system.
Finland remains committed to the law of armed conflict
The Finnish Defence Forces is committed to observing the law of armed conflict in all its activities and in its use of military force. Moreover, the Finnish Defence Forces will plan, develop and use its anti-personnel mine capability with particular reference to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and its Amended Protocol II on Mines, Booby Traps and Other Devices. The Finnish Defence Forces was committed to observing the restrictions on the use of anti-personnel mines defined in Amended Protocol II even before Finland acceded to the Ottawa Convention.
Finland’s counter-mobility doctrine dictates that mines must be diligently planned, deployed and documented. The Finnish Defence Forces does not deploy mines under normal conditions, and all the anti-personnel mines Finland procures will be stockpiled with the exception of mines used in training and exercises.
Inquiries:
Antti Vesala, Special Adviser to the Minister, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 099