Finland is seeking to acquire around one million anti-personnel mines, according to the country's military officials. The plan to spend roughly €100 million ($112 million) on the weapons comes after Helsinki and several neighboring countries withdrew from the UN agreement that prohibits the use of such mines.
According to AFP, Colonel Riku Mikkonen of the Finnish Army Command told the national news agency STT that officials are gathering information from suppliers about the deal. Helsinki wants domestic manufacturers to supply the mines, with a contract expected to be signed before the end of 2027 and production to begin in 2028.
"It would be useful in many ways if Finnish companies produced anti-personnel mines right here in Finland," Mikkonen said, noting that about half a dozen Finnish firms meet the requirements. He added, however: "At this stage, buying mines from abroad is not entirely ruled out."
The plan follows Finland's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, a humanitarian agreement aimed at eliminating anti-personnel mines and destroying more than one million of them. Finland joined the convention in 2012 but announced its withdrawal in April 2025, citing a deteriorating security environment, and has no longer been bound by the treaty since January this year.
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland — all strong allies of Ukraine — had earlier left the agreement as well, citing concerns about a potential threat from Moscow. Tensions have risen as Russia faces growing accusations of waging hybrid warfare against countries supporting Ukraine and may be weighing military provocations.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has called Russia — which lies along Finland's eastern border — a long-term threat. Finland shares a roughly 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia. The country has strengthened its defenses since Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine in 2022, and has reported migrants being pushed across the border from the east.
In a related development, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Monday called on the European Union to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens until the war ends. "As long as Russia continues its invasion, Russian citizens should not be granted tourist visas," she said, arguing that Russians enjoying Europe's freedoms "while their country is bombing Ukrainian homes" is "not right."
Valtonen said Schengen countries issued nearly half a million tourist visas to Russians in 2025. Finland has banned such visas since 2022, and she argued the rest of the bloc should follow suit.
