In 2025, six European states — Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Ukraine — initiated withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines (APMs). This post critically assesses the rationale behind such decisions, warning against the framing of landmines as legitimate tools of self-defence. While the Ottawa Convention has produced significant humanitarian and security gains since 1997, APMs offer only marginal tactical utility, are easily countered in conventional warfare, and frequently backfire, causing friendly casualties and long-term risks to civilians. Their deployment imposes high financial, social, and environmental costs while generating devastating humanitarian consequences, including death, disability, and restricted access to land and services. Justifying withdrawal on grounds of deterrence sets a dangerous precedent, eroding international humanitarian commitments. Instead, this moment calls for reinforcing ethical and legal norms, recognising that the purported benefits of APMs pale against their enduring harm to societies, environments, and post-war recovery.