Lithuania builds new defenses along borders with Russia and Belarus
Lithuania is building fortifications on the border with Russia and Belarus (photo: Getty Images)
Lithuania's Cabinet of Ministers has revised the plan for installing engineering measures along the border with Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad region. A new security zone is planned there, according to Lithuanian media outlet LRT.
New section of counter-mobility measures
According to the adopted decision, the following will be established along the border:
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A 20-meter-wide section of counter-mobility measures extending from the border patrol road into Lithuanian territory;
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150-meter-wide sections in operational areas designated by the military, also extending from the border patrol road into the country.
Such parks usually store dragon's teeth (concrete anti-tank obstacles), Czech hedgehogs (metal anti-tank barriers), Spanish horses (portable barriers used to block or restrict movement), concrete barriers, barbed wire, roadblocks, and shipping containers.
What the Lithuanian defense minister said
"A comprehensive and specific plan has been developed for what it should look like at distances of five kilometers, 20 kilometers, and 50 kilometers, what the fortifications should be, and what decisions should be made," Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas told journalists.
Engineering equipment parks are to be installed at locations designated by the Lithuanian Armed Forces by the end of 2028.
Deadlines were pushed back
Previously, this work was planned to be completed by April 1, 2025. The Ministry of National Defense explained that the deadline had to be extended.
The reason is that the number of military counter-mobility engineering parks increased from 27 to 50.
The installation of reserve barriers on sections of national roads, overpasses, and bridges, where explosives are attached to engineering structures, has also been extended until the end of 2028.
Instead of the previously planned forest lines, the goal is now to create wetlands. This work is to be completed by the end of 2030.
"After the hydrological regime is restored, within several years the area will become difficult for heavy equipment to traverse without the use of complex engineering equipment," the Ministry of Agriculture said.
Ukraine is also expanding defensive lines along the entire length of its northern border with Belarus.
The State Border Guard Service said that the strengthening of the border is continuing comprehensively with the participation of border guards, other defense forces, and local authorities.
Meanwhile, according to the Lithuanian defense minister, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is already assessing scenarios for attacks on Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, although a final decision to conduct such an operation has not yet been made.
According to him, North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies are closely monitoring Moscow's next moves.
