Poland Withdraws from Ottawa Convention. Rising Tensions in the Baltic and Arms Dispute with the USA

Faced with unprecedented growing geopolitical tension, the Polish government has taken controversial but militarily assessed as necessary steps to tightly secure the eastern flank. On Friday, 20 February, the Polish state officially ceased to be a party to the Ottawa Convention. This decision, backed by a June law passed by MPs, completely opens the way to creating barriers of exceptional difficulty on the border with Russia and Belarus. Deputy Minister of National Defense Paweł Zalewski bluntly declared that mine devices will constitute one of the fundamental elements of the emerging giant protective structure. This work is actively supported by a private capital initiative, aiming to reactivate arms production under the historic brand Pronit in Pionki, where the manufacturing of mines and grenades is set to start in the middle of the year. Simultaneously, strategists plan partial rewilding of border sections to utilize dense forests, streams, and marshes as an excellent natural operational blockade.

As a member of alliance structures in the 21st century, Poland focused on expeditionary missions while ratifying disarmament documents. Ratification in 2012 mandated the complete removal of mine reserves from storage, but the experience of the full-scale brutal Russian-Ukrainian war forced a reorientation of European defense doctrines and a sudden return to classical land fortification.

800 km — length of the Polish eastern engineering defense line

Warsaw's drastic step was swiftly met with a cold reaction from the Kremlin. The spokeswoman of the Russian foreign ministry sharply criticized European intentions, baselessly arguing that it was inflaming peace on the continent. Moscow's intentions are also manifesting at sea under the cover of brutal winter weather. An extremely thick ice cover has trapped transport traffic in the northern Baltic, causing the powerful Russian nuclear icebreaker "Sibir" to begin constant patrol and escort activity. The ships are recorded alarmingly close to Estonia's maritime territories in the Gulf of Finland region, forcing local institutions to intensify intelligence monitoring. Meanwhile, the new integration policy is dividing long-standing Western partners. EU officials prefer a model of building their own capability based on a common industry within the bloc. The response is warning diplomatic letters from the United States, condemning the deliberate pushing of their most expensive companies out of the favorable European market, threatening a multiplication of tariff surcharges.

Mine Decision Timeline: 30 June 2025 — National Legislation; 20 February 2026 — Breaking the Ban; June 2026 — Industry Moves

Europeans, however, seem determined to firmly follow their own path of military assertiveness. Five countries with enormous potential – Poland, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy, have formed a resolute coalition with the target code "E5". An extremely powerful alliance concerning independent mass production and control of small precision missiles and lethal drones was inaugurated. The project is fully based on heavy empirical lessons from an army landing on territory cut off from supplies deep in the east of the continent.

„Europa obudziła się. Jesteśmy zdeterminowani, żeby podnosić nasze zdolności bojowe i rozwijać swój przemysł zbrojeniowy.” (Europe has awakened. We are determined to enhance our combat capabilities and develop our arms industry.) — Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz

Meanwhile, on the Azores, further US air forces are landing in the most expensive escort, demonstrating the ability for rapid transfer of a division to a region of dormant military risk across all domains of space over the old continent.

Perspektywy mediów: Western European headlines strive to praise the creation of new funds, alliances within the EU, and ecological forms of hindering armored crossing with river streams. Outlets considered more conservative approve a complete reset of the pacifist approach, proudly emphasizing the utility of border mines and production self-sufficiency.