Finland plans to leave the Ottawa convention that bans antipersonnel landmines, following similar moves by other neighbouring states bordering Russia.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Tuesday that exiting the 1997 treaty would allow Finland to “prepare for the changes in the security environment in a more versatile way”. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, all among the staunchest allies of Ukraine, quit the agreement last month citing the potential threat from Moscow.
Orpo said Finland, which now guards NATO’s longest border – 1,300km (800 miles) – with Russia since joining the military alliance in 2023, is not in immediate danger. However, Moscow poses a long-term threat to all of Europe, he stated.
Once it exits the treaty, Finland will be able to stockpile landmines again to have them at hand should the need arise.
Orpo also announced plans to increase Finland’s defence spending to at least 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2029, indicating that spending by that time will rise by about 3 billion euros ($3.24bn).
The announcement came as United States President Donald Trump doubled down on his effort to halt the war in Ukraine, which has led to fear that a pause in the conflict could offer Moscow the chance to rearm and target its neighbours.
Finland shut its land border as Russia cast its new membership of NATO as a dangerous historic mistake. Helsinki has since accused Moscow of weaponising migration and extended the closure indefinitely.
However, on Monday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb – who has repeatedly warned about the need to be tough with Russia – told his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, that Helsinki needed to “mentally prepare” for the restoration of ties with Russia.
He said the timing of any rapprochement would depend on when the war in Ukraine ended, but said there was “no denying” that Russia would always be Finland’s neighbour.
What good are these dumbass war treaties if everyone just drops them at the slightest hint of conflict?
They let you brag about being more progressive/humanitarian than the US/Russia/whoever else for a few decades.
Vibes based international order
More of less what the UN is and the League of Nations was. Probably the most accurate way of describing them
I personally think we should all agree not to kill anyone (until we want to), that way, peace is achieved
So maiming is ok?
No. Not until you decide it is, then it is.
Deploying landmines on your own territory is one of those things that reminds me of spiteful behavior like salting the earth of your own home so no one else can use it.
I can imagine EU doing that too at some point
Spiteful for sure, but still a technically viable tactic. Soviets did it to great effect against the Nazis who had less food and supplies to plunder before winter. It’s analogous to blowing up bridges, roads, and other infrastructure on your retreat.
Not that I think these are morally good things, but perhaps morally neutral - What if you’re bordering a fascist and irredentist regime that is imminently planning to invade? This may not be Finland’s case, but would, say, Hezbollah not be forgiven for employing a few tactics like this to deter the IOF?
That’s heartbreaking.
I am so sorry to the children of Finland.
My children being killed by ordinance while playing is preferable to letting Russia govern here without resistance.
“Weaponising migration” = two dudes at the border on bikes.
I too, often struggle with wanting to plant landmines across the borders of my property
How can my children live in peace if I have to deal with the people living next to me?
:finland-cool:
Never ask a man his salary
Never ask a woman her age
Never ask a Finnish person what their grandparents were doing between the years of 1928 - 1946
Saw a Reddit thread circlejerking over some WW2 Finnish sniper the other day and waaaay at the bottom with like 3 upvotes someone was like “hey uh if this guy was killing Soviets, which side was he on”
I don’t think they’ve stopped jerking over LT since the Sabaton song came out. That dude ended up dying fighting for the imperialists in Vietnam
Stalin shouldn’t have stopped at Berlin
More and more people are saying this!
Dude was addicted to losing against communists, a real pain piggy.
Fucking posthumous promotion, what the fuck
Participation trophy baby, never travel by helicopter
I thought sabaton was cool. Did I miss remember stuff?
Anyone having a boner for exceptional events and people during war time will have a lot of bad positions. Never got that stuff, it is so superficial.
They’re mostly fine/apolitical, but people loooooove their White Death song about one anticommunist sniper https://sabaton.fandom.com/wiki/White_Death and Soldier of Three Armies about the habsturmfurher himself https://sabaton.fandom.com/wiki/Soldier_of_3_Armies
Eww, libs
I’m just happy they’re libs, for a year I was worried they were fascists
BACK. IN. CONTROL. went so hard until I actually grew up and learned what the Falklands war was.
Funny thing about that sniper is that according to himself his mortal hits were absurdly overblown for propaganda sake. The finish military counted every hit by him as kill, no matter if confirmed or not, even if the target was cofirmed to have survived.
Meanwhile Ludmila “not men, fascists” Pavlechenko…
I remember when they counted Soviet casualties from relevant units in that war, Hayha would have to singlehandedly kill half of Soviet casualties in the entire local battlefield to met that alleged numbers.
No you see Finland was only attacking the soviets coincidently when the nazis did, and totally didnt blockade Leningrad they just placed their forces on all the supply lines, and they totally didnt put russian karelians into camps!
Epic meow meow fascists and libs, BFFs forever
Sink Helsinki
Hell Sink
