Lithuania invests €812M in mines

Lithuanian authorities have finally defined the country's development priorities and announced that Vilnius plans to invest 812 million euros by 2035 in the procurement of anti-tank mines. Lithuania's Minister of National Defense, Arvydas Anušauskas, stated that part of the funds, about 189 million euros, will be allocated from the European Union's defense fund SAFE. Earlier, Lithuania withdrew from the Ottawa Convention banning the use of anti-personnel mines and, together with Estonia, Latvia, Finland, and Poland, is reshaping its defense strategy. According to the minister, these measures will contribute to strengthening national security, but critics emphasize the risk of creating their own mine traps for civilians.

Context

Since 2007, Lithuania, like other signatories of the Ottawa Convention, had banned the production and storage of anti-personnel mines; in 2019, the country officially withdrew from the agreement.