INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
On March 18, 2025, defense chiefs from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania jolted global headlines, pushing to abandon the Ottawa
Convention.They aim to deploy anti-personnel mines along borders with Russia and Belarus, undoing a 1997 ban on these lethal devices
has left Ukraine riddled with mines, with cleanup costs estimated at $34.6 billion by the World Bank
Latvia considers manufacturing, Estonia aligns but waits, and Lithuania, fresh off scrapping a cluster bomb ban, presses forward.Poland,
Baltics Seek Mines Amid Russia Border Fears
Article 5 test within years drive their haste
six-month UN exit window, delaying full rollout to 2026
though the move risks straining treaty allies and provoking Moscow, which claims NATO stokes the fire.The numbers tell a stark story:
nations beside a formidable power, arming for survival with tools as perilous as they are potent
They stake everything on deterrence, challenging a tense world to respond.
