Campaigners sound alarm as European nations move to exit landmine ban

Rights groups have expressed alarm and warned of a slippery slope of again embracing one of the world’s most treacherous weapons, after five European countries said they intend to withdraw from the international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines. In announcing their Read More …

Finland’s planned exit from landmine ban draws sharp criticism from Amnesty

The Finnish government’s decision to prepare for withdrawal from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel landmines risks weakening international law and damaging Finland’s global reputation, Amnesty Finland said on Monday. The treaty, which prohibits the use, production, storage and transfer of Read More …

Which countries are quitting a key landmine treaty and why?

NATO members Poland, Finland and all three Baltic states have queued up over the past few weeks to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines, in the face of what they say are growing military threats from Russia. The Read More …

Finland: Move to leave convention banning anti-personnel mines could put civilian lives at risk

Reacting to news that the Finnish government has initiated the process of withdrawing from the Ottawa convention, a landmark treaty prohibiting the use of anti-personnel mines, Esther Major, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Research in Europe, said: “The Finnish government’s Read More …

Finland to host Nordic rescue exercise in Oulu in September

Finland will host Rescue Borealis 2025, a Nordic exercise focusing on the Euro-Arctic cross-border cooperation involving rescue services in Finland, Sweden and Norway, said the Ministry of the Interior in a press release on Monday. Rescue Borealis 2025 includes a Read More …

Europe faces return of landmines as defence against Putin

Britain and its European allies must urgently regain the ability to deploy landmines if they are to be able to counter the “terrifying” threat posed by Russia, experts have warned. Finland, a new member of Nato in the wake of Read More …

Soldiers from Finland undergoing training at the Bondsteel NATO base

Specialized KFOR units from Finland, which deal with the identification, removal and destruction of explosive devices, had an exercise at the Bondsteel NATO base near Uroševac. Finnish EOD soldiers, assigned to the East Regional Command of the KFOR mission, recently Read More …

Virginia National Guard Engineers conduct mine detection and clearance training during Arctic Forge 25

Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the West Point-based 237th Engineer Company, 276th Engineer Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group conduct a mine detection and clearance training with the Finnish Army’s Karelia Brigade during Exercise Arctic Forge 21, Feb. 24, Read More …

Finland sends CBRN protective equipment, detector to Ukraine

Finland has for the first time delivered assistance from an EU-fun​ded rescEU stockpile to a country that has requested assistance, said an official government press release. This week, a truckload of personal protective equipment and chemical detectors was delivered to Read More …