Finland’s Strategy – Landmines Against Russia

Landmines back in Europe? Fearing Russia, Finland and Poland are arming themselves with this controversial weapon.

The war in Ukraine has changed Europe’s approach to security and triggered a radical rethink in Finland: the return of the anti-personnel mine. At a military training ground, Colonel Riku Mikkonen of the Finnish Armed Forces explains why the Finnish military regards the mine as a ‘cost-effective tool’ for national defence. For its supporters, it is a pragmatic deterrent.

For Zoran Ješić, they are the opposite. During the Bosnian War, he lost a leg to a landmine. To this day, he witnesses how these weapons continue to kill and maim people and render entire swathes of land uninhabitable, even decades after the war. His story epitomises the long-term consequences of a weapon that has been internationally condemned. The film explores the tension between the logic of military deterrence, international obligations and humanitarian values.

In Helsinki, politician Li Andersson warns against the belief in a ‘Finnish exceptionalism’ that undermines confidence in a rules-based world order. Green Party politician Atte Harjanne counters this view: he sees the mines as a pragmatic solution to protect Finland from a Russian attack.

Navigating military logic, political debate and the experiences of the victims, the film poses the question: can the use of this condemned weapon ever be responsible – or does its destructive work only begin long after the war has ended?

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