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Finland buying a million landmines over 'long-term' Russia threat (yle.fi)
submitted 1 week ago by tardigrade@scribe.disroot.org to c/europe@feddit.org
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...

Around 100 million euros is earmarked for the acquisitions.

Preparations for the purchase began after Finland's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention took effect in January, Colonel Riku Mikkonen of the Army Command told Finnish news agency STT. He said there are around half a dozen companies in the country able to make mines.

Finland reintroduced landmines due to the worsening security environment. Ahead of the decision, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo called Russia a long-term threat to Finnish and European security.

...

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[-] tal@lemmy.today 18 points 1 week ago

I can't really argue against it, as landmines have been quite effective in Ukraine.

But I do hope that Europe gives serious consideration to long-term demining considerations. In some cases, self-neutralizing mines might be acceptable. Or maybe it's viable to make mines that are resistant to combat demining but not (cost-effective) non-combat demining.

Every mine that gets placed is, long term, going to have to go away. It may be a very long term, but it'll still be a day that will come.

[-] 0x0@infosec.pub 13 points 1 week ago

If theres one European country that I have trust in to actually being responsible with mines it's definitely Finland

[-] kolmaskommentoija@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 week ago

In this case, it is quite obvious where those are going to be placed. It will not cause any issues, unless certain eastern neighbour starts invading again, which is the point of getting them.

I do have to note, I am extremely sad the situation has changed so, that we need them again. But the best way to avoid war with a much bigger, aggressive neighbour state, that cannot be trusted to follow any deals, is to have enough forces, so invading would be extremely costly. Mines are cheap and effective way to halt troops crossing the border. Such a shitty world, this is.

[-] DdCno1@beehaw.org 3 points 1 week ago

There are still some risks, even without an invasion. In Ukraine for example, Russia destroyed a major dam a while ago, which caused flooding that randomly distributed mines from known and mapped mine fields in all sorts of areas. A natural disaster like a flood could cause issues in Finland too.

[-] kolmaskommentoija@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 week ago

Good point, and I do agree otherwise, but the whole long border is mostly just forest, with barely any residents or infrastructure anywhere close, especially when you go up north, which is what makes the mines so appealing. Even if some natural (or caused) disaster would happen, having some remote area full of uncharted mines, is a far smaller problem, than what not having them could cause. Also, just the knowledge we do have them, and they might be somewhere, is pretty useful in itself.

[-] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

as long as they're placed by people and not air/artillery they should be able to map their positions reliably.

[-] FridaVanMercury@discuss.tchncs.de 16 points 1 week ago

I am very conflicted about this. It is very effective but also a terrible way to deter attacks. I mean look at all the Asian countries still cleaning these up and all the pictures of kids with missing limbs thanks to these.

[-] CapuccinoCoretto@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

If you create minefields in permanent DMZ type areas its not as bad as haphazard wartime fuckery placement.

The conflicts errupting are shameful stains on the human race, but here we are.

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[-] molehill_siesta@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 1 week ago

[-] Doomsider@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

Surely you won't regret all those maimed children.

[-] stoy@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 week ago

An idea I have had for land mines are making them with an expiery date.

I don't mean with electronics, I mean that there should be a slow chemicam process breaking down the explosives material over time.

[-] durably465@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 week ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HPD_series_of_mines

There's landmine donated by french gov to Ukraine.

HPD-2 The mine arms itself after an initial delay of ten minutes and self-neutralizes after 30 days.

[-] freeman@feddit.org 4 points 1 week ago

I expected a longer duration than 30 days, this seems too short, no?

[-] GardenGeek@europe.pub 9 points 1 week ago

Depends on the kind of war you want to use them for. Ideally the front isn't stalled and you use mines to temporarily block some area/routes which you'll be using for your own offensives in a couple of weeks.

[-] KeenFlame@feddit.nu 2 points 1 week ago

...and the other case...?

[-] GardenGeek@europe.pub 3 points 1 week ago

... it would be better if the mines were stable over the long term and could keep the restricted area secure for as long as possible. There are now even “self-healing minefields” in which adjacent mines can move into gaps left by cleared mines. From a humanitarian perspective, however, such long-term, non-self-neutralizing minefields are problematic, since the maps detailing where, when, and how many mines were laid are often lost in the chaos of war and continue to pose a danger to the civilian population for decades after the conflict ends.

I think two factors may be at play here, which is why Ukraine received self-neutralizing mines:

  1. According to the Ottawa Convention, mines are generally no longer supposed to be manufactured; perhaps France wanted to at least reach a compromise by developing and producing self-neutralizing mines itself.
  2. Ukraine does not want to mine its own territory in the long term, especially since it hopes to be able to recapture certain areas.
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[-] klankin@piefed.ca 2 points 1 week ago

Not worth the risk of eventual harm to citizens.

And sane government should be taking that into account.

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[-] DdCno1@beehaw.org 2 points 1 week ago

Not a new idea. There has been work done on mines that deactivate themselves since the early '90s:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_mine

I could swear there are mines like this already in use (IIRC it was mines delivered via mine-laying vehicles), but I can't find any examples right now. Still, as mentioned in the above article, no system - mechanical, chemical, electronic - will ever be 100% reliable, so at best, it'll only reduce the long-term risk of mines to civilians, not eliminate it entirely.

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[-] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

wise investment.

[-] Sina@beehaw.org 2 points 1 week ago

€100 / mine does not seem very efficient, but I guess they don't want to domestically produce them. (and honestly given the circumstances, probably they should)

[-] architect@thelemmy.club 2 points 1 week ago

The same people that let Google take part of their country? Sure.

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[-] Muffi@programming.dev 1 points 1 week ago

Those are gonna do wonders in modern drone warfare...

[-] HereIAm@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

I know where heading that direction, but we're not at the stage where drones alone can win a war. It's hard to occupy territory if you don't have any boots on the ground.

[-] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 week ago

You still need to WALK to places to conquer them...

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[-] DdCno1@beehaw.org 2 points 1 week ago

They actually do. Mine fields help funnel armor and infantry into kill zones, where they can be more effectively fought by other means, including drones. If you've seen any videos of Russian combined arms attacks being torn up by Ukrainian defenders, that's mostly happening in such well-planned kill zones in between minefields.

Also, laying mines is actually a task that drones can be very useful for. You can for example covertly re-mine an area (like a chokepoint on a road) that the enemy just cleared and thinks is clear, mine areas behind the enemy's rear, quickly beef up defenses, etc.

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this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2026
162 points (98.8% liked)

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