Lithuania to deploy military to reinforce border with Kaliningrad region

Lithuania will involve the military to strengthen border protection with the Russian Kaliningrad region. The decision was made as a preventive measure against the backdrop of the situation in the region and reports of a possible new mobilization in Russia.

This was reported by the Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior.

Interior Minister Martinas Katelinas appealed to Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas with a request to provide army units to assist the State Border Guard Service. The Ministry of Defense supported the request, and the order began to be implemented immediately.

According to Kaunas, up to 100 military personnel are planned to be involved in border protection. They will help border guards patrol the section near the Kaliningrad region for several weeks — tentatively until October 16.

Katelinas stressed that the situation directly on the Lithuanian border currently remains calm. The reinforcement is being carried out in advance so that the country has enough forces in case of a change in the situation.

One of the reasons for the decision was an incident on the border of Latvia and Belarus. According to the Lithuanian side, a group of about 20 migrants attempted to illegally enter Latvia through a physical border barrier, while they were accompanied by armed masked individuals.

In addition, Lithuanian authorities take into account public signals about a possible mobilization in Russia. Katelinas admitted that Russians who want to avoid mobilization may try to cross the border illegally.

The Defense Minister also noted that a physical barrier already exists on Lithuania's border with Belarus, while there is no such protection on the section with the Kaliningrad region. Therefore, additional forces were decided to be concentrated precisely on the Russian direction.

As LRT reports, the length of the Lithuanian border with Russia is about 275 kilometers.