Vulnerable NATO countries are turning to mines, away from US
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have announced they're withdrawing from a landmark ban on military mines. Here's why.
By Logan Nye
Published Mar 21, 2025 11:04 AM PDT
Reviewed By Tessa Robinson
The Trump administration floated the idea of withdrawing from NATO in his first term. That relationship is already rockier this time, just two months into a four-year term. It appears that the most vulnerable members of NATO are preparing for a new reality where the U.S. doesn’t back up NATO or even deter Russia in general.
To prepare for Russian aggression in this brave new world, the most vulnerable members of NATO—Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland—have announced that they’re withdrawing from a landmark ban on military mines.
The risk of leaving vulnerable territory up for grabs
When I was in the Army, one of the common training scenarios at the brigade headquarters level was a war in Europe. The conflict often centered on the Suwalki Gap. All the country names were changed for the exercise and, sometimes, even a few borders, but the gap always remained. We’ve written about this gap before, a thin strip of the Polish-Lithuanian border that runs east-west between Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad Enclave. If Russia struck through the gap, it could sever the three Baltic countries from the rest of NATO.
https://www.wearethemighty.com/military-news/vulnerable-nato-countries-are-turning-to-mines-away-from-us/
