Lithuania is deploying its armed forces to the border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad as a preventive security measure (PolsatNews.pl). The decision follows an aggressive border incident on the Belarusian-Latvian frontier, where an armed escort threatened soldiers and pushed migrants across the border before vandalizing equipment (Interia Wydarzenia).
Deployment to the Russian Border
Lithuanian Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas announced on Wednesday that he asked Defense Minister Robertasa Kaunas to dispatch Lithuanian armed forces to assist the border guard in protecting the frontier with the Kaliningrad region (TVN24). Katelynas stated that the deployment is a preventive action undertaken after analyzing regional security and signals that Russia might declare mobilization (PolsatNews.pl). While stressing that the current situation on Lithuania’s border remains calm and that no illegal crossing attempts were recorded over the past day, authorities noted that the military presence is intended to increase capabilities and prepare for potential scenarios (TVN24). Katelynas emphasized that there is no reason to panic, noting that the military’s presence aims to enhance service capabilities and prepare personnel for various scenarios (TVN24). He added that Lithuania remains prepared for such developments (TVN24). Lithuanian interior officials underlined that services are continuously monitoring the situation and that troops will support border guards to boost regional forces and enable reactions to potential incidents (TVN24).
The Armed Incident on the Latvian Frontier
The regional security concerns stem from an event earlier in the week when a group of at least 20 migrants, led by masked guides, attempted to cross from Belarus into Latvia (PolsatNews.pl). Latvian Interior Minister Janis Dombrava reported that the armed escorts threatened soldiers and actively pushed the migrants toward Latvia (PolsatNews.pl). Hours later, masked individuals crossed into Latvian territory, damaged an electrical switchboard, and stole surveillance cameras before retreating to Belarus (PolsatNews.pl). Latvian officials warned Minsk of serious consequences and extended Operation Werewolf in response to the rising number of border sabotage cases (Interia Wydarzenia). Head of the Latvian border guard Guntis Pujats stated that the armed protection of migrants likely consisted of organized crime members taking advantage of Belarusian special services to smuggle third-country nationals, while noting that border barriers are destroyed significantly less often than a year ago (Interia Wydarzenia). Latvian services turned back 21 migrants on Tuesday, and the government extended Operation Werewolf targeting illegal migrants, primarily from Africa and the Middle East, until the end of December (Interia Wydarzenia). Martynas Katelynas assessed the incident as another escalation between Russia, its allies, and NATO, pointing to an increased hybrid war waged against Europe by Moscow and Minsk, which previously included NATO forces shooting down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus on the night of September 14 to 15, as well as European Union sanctions imposed on Belarus in 2021 for using migrants as a political tool (Interia Wydarzenia).
