Lithuania tests wartime evacuation plans as border regions warn of transport shortages
Lithuania is testing wartime evacuation plans as municipalities bordering Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad region warn that shortages of transport, congested roads and difficulties evacuating people with special needs could complicate a mass evacuation.
Border municipalities have preplanned evacuation routes that would be used in the event of a military threat, Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported, citing local emergency preparedness officials.
In the Dieveniškės Loop along the Belarusian border, authorities expect the main road could be blocked during an emergency and have planned alternative routes. The evacuation plan has been coordinated with the Lithuanian military command.
Pavel Gojus, a preparedness official in the Šalčininkai district, said the municipality currently does not have enough transport to evacuate everyone within 24 hours, although authorities expect they could complete an evacuation if given two or three days.
Officials in the Varėna district identified the evacuation of people with special needs as another major challenge, particularly bedridden residents who would require ambulances or other specialized vehicles.
Similar concerns have been raised in municipalities bordering Russia's Kaliningrad region. Authorities in the Jurbarkas district estimate that a mass evacuation could require moving about a quarter of its population, or 5,000 to 5,700 people.
The municipality says its own resources would allow it to evacuate about 5,000 residents, while additional transport would have to be requested for more than 1,400 people and specialized vehicles would be needed to move up to 130 patients.
Lithuania is currently testing its evacuation procedures as part of Vyčio skliautas 2026, its largest annual exercise examining the country's mobilization system.
Around 3,000 government officials, municipal employees, representatives of institutions, companies and nongovernmental organizations are taking part, along with about 1,000 volunteers.
Several municipalities are conducting practical evacuation drills, while others are testing their procedures through tabletop exercises. The drills also examine how the country would respond to a deteriorating security situation, disruptions to energy and communications systems, the arrival of allied forces and the need to maintain critical services.