This Is Why Lithuania Wants You To Be Prepared For Russia's Next Move

What You Need To Know:

✅ In its annual threat assessment report, Lithuania, a NATO-member country, noted the Russian readiness to launch an attack on the Baltics.

✅ Lithuania’s Minister of Defense, Raimundas Karoblis, told Hromadske at the Kyiv Security Forum 2017 that he doesn’t expect Russia’s political decision about aggression to be made, but that his country is prepared, if so;

✅ “Despite the security situation, Lithuania had never had such guarantees and alliances that we have now,” Raimundas Karoblis, Lithuanian MOD;

✅ On further cooperation with Ukraine: “We will continue this bilateral work but the NATO dimension should be increased in the cooperation with Ukraine too,”-Lithuanian MOD.

In its annual threat assessment report, Lithuania, a NATO-member country, noted the Russian readiness to launch an attack on the Baltics. With an increase of military capabilities in Kaliningrad (a Russian enclave between Lithuania, Poland and the Baltic Sea), Russia could start a conflict with as little as 24 hours notice, which would limit NATO’s possibility to respond and interfere.

Lithuania’s Minister of Defense, Raimundas Karoblis, was at the Kyiv Security Forum 2017, where he told Hromadske that he doesn’t expect Russia’s political decision about aggression to be made, but that his country is prepared, if so. “We need to adjust ourselves to threat,” he said, mentioning Lithuania’s Rapid Reaction Force that can be activated in 2-24 hours. “Despite the security situation, Lithuania had never had such guarantees and alliances that we have now.”

Since Russian aggression began in Ukraine, with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent invasion of the eastern territories, Lithuania has been assisting the country by supplying arms and training the military. In 2017, a joint Lithuania-Poland-Ukraine brigade that conducts mainly peace operations came into existence. “We will continue this bilateral work but the NATO dimension should be increased in the cooperation with Ukraine too,” adds Karoblis.

Hromadske’s Olga Datsiuk spoke to Raimundas Karoblis, Minister of National Defense of Lithuania at the Kyiv Security Forum on April 7th, 2017.