World · Europe · 8 hrs ago
New technologies are driving a comeback in antipersonnel mines
Antipersonnel mines are making a comeback in Ukraine, where new technology is making them cheaper and easier to deploy.
In 1997, 122 countries signed the Ottawa Treaty to ban these weapons because they can keep threatening civilians long after fighting ends.
3D printing, microcontrollers and drones are changing how mines are made and placed: they can be produced in small workshops, triggered by sensors and delivered precisely to paths or trenches.
Human rights groups and a UN commission have reported that Russian forces use drones to drop antipersonnel mines targeting civilians in Kherson.
The mines can be difficult to spot and can harm people well after a conflict, while the same technology could spread to other armed groups and countries.
Ukraine has suspended its implementation of the Ottawa Treaty, and Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are also pulling out.
Demining agencies are being urged to update their training, while AI-enabled drones are beginning to help detect and dispose of mines.
Antipersonnel mines are making a comeback in Ukraine, aided by 3D printing, microcontrollers and drone delivery.
These technologies make mines cheaper to produce, harder to detect and easier to place precisely.
Human rights organisations and a UN commission have reported Russian forces using drones to drop the mines to target civilians in Kherson.
Ukraine has suspended its implementation of the Ottawa Treaty, and Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have also pulled out.
A consultant warns that the weapons pose growing risks to civilians and that demining agencies need to adapt.
- Who
- Russian forces have been reported using drones to drop antipersonnel mines in Kherson. Ukraine and five other countries have changed their position on the Ottawa Treaty.
- What
- New technologies are enabling a resurgence of antipersonnel mines.
- When
- In 2026, according to the article.
- Where
- Ukraine, including the city of Kherson. The article warns the technology could spread worldwide.
- Why
- 3D printing, microcontrollers and drones make mines cheaper to produce, harder to detect and easier to deliver.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
122 countries signed the Ottawa Treaty to ban antipersonnel mines.
Antipersonnel mines are making a comeback, with new technologies enabling their production and delivery.
- Ottawa Treaty
- Signed by 122 countries in 1997
- Mine types
- Blast mines and fragmentation mines
- New technologies
- 3D printing, microcontrollers and drone delivery
- Treaty withdrawals
- Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia
- Ukraine
- Suspended its implementation of the Ottawa Treaty
What people are saying
These things are both cheap to produce and offer a level of sophistication that actors couldn’t hope to reproduce for a hundred times the price only a few years ago.
The triad of drone delivery, 3D printing and microcontrollers will proliferate worldwide.
Now we see five countries pulling out of the Ottawa Treaty [Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia], which suggests that mines have some utility.
These simple devices can be rapidly produced by any group with access to explosives, enabling a significant expansion of mine warfare.