Poland and the Baltic states have announced they are withdrawing from the global ban on anti-personnel mines, over the growing threat from Russia.

Poland said it had quit the 1997 Ottawa Treaty – as had its fellow Nato members Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – in order to stockpile landmines to protect its borders.

The move is a blow to anti-landmine campaigners, whose cause was famously championed by Diana, the late Princess of Wales.

Anti-personnel mines are considered a particular risk to children who find them unexploded, because they can be mistaken for toys.

But since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they have been widely used by both sides and are acknowledged to be an effective way of slowing an enemy’s advance.

The defence ministers of Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said that “Russia’s aggression” had forced their hands.

“Since the ratification of the convention, the security situation in our region has fundamentally deteriorated,” they wrote in a joint statement. “Military threats to Nato member states bordering Russia and Belarus have significantly increased.

“In light of this unstable security environment marked by Russia’s aggression and its ongoing threat to the Euro-Atlantic community, it is essential to evaluate all measures to strengthen our deterrence and defence capabilities.”

US not a signatory

Currently, more than 160 nations, including Britain, have agreed to the terms of the Ottawa Treaty; although the list does not include Russia or the United States.

Last year, Joe Biden, the former US president, authorised sending large of supplies of anti-personnel landmines to Kyiv, in a bid to slow Russian gains on the battlefield.

As well as being planted by hand, the devices can be scattered in their thousands by aircraft, potentially securing large areas in a short time. The area can be unsafe for civilians for years, unless mine clearance work is done by foot-by-foot.

Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s defence minister, said last May that his government might consider renouncing the anti-land mine convention. He did so while unveiling plans for the “Eastern Shield”, a fortification of Poland’s borders with Belarus and Russia that would potentially include minefields.

The plans are being co-ordinated with the three Baltic states.

According to Landmine Monitor, the civil society group, Ukraine recorded 608 landmine casualties in 2022 alone, more than any country in the world bar Syria.

Most casualties were caused by anti-personnel mines, which carry small charges designed to cripple and maim rather than kill outright.