Abstract
The paper examines how the war in Ukraine is impacting the Ottawa and Oslo Conventions. It discusses how Finland, Poland, and the Baltic Republics withdrew from the agreements between 2024 and 2025. They did this because of strategic needs and self-defence, as a response to the threat from Russia. The article reconstructs the legal basis for these decisions, highlighting the regulatory implications and tensions between national sovereignty and international obligations. The article also explores the role of the military industry and the global production of anti-personnel mines. Despite the predominance of Asian companies, the widespread use of this type of weapon in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the US supply to Ukraine represent two dangerous precedents that risk undermining the legitimacy of international humanitarian law and the process of universalising ICW treaties.
Keywords
Ottawa Convention Oslo Convention Anti-personnel mines Cluster munitions International humanitarian law