Russia poses threat, but no enemy at the gates – Lithuania's army

VILNIUS - Russia poses a threat to Lithuania, but no redeployment of its forces closer to Lithuania's borders has been recorded, the Lithuanian army said in a Facebook post on Tuesday in response to public inquiries.

"Is the enemy already at the gates, but we are hiding everything? No. For an attack on Lithuania to take place, two conditions must be met: first, enemy forces must be deployed near Lithuania's borders, and, second, the intention to use them must be known," the army said.

Lithuania's intelligence services are monitoring Russia's actions in Ukraine and there are no indications of redeployment of its forces closer to Lithuania, the post said.

"The situation in Belarus remains unchanged as they continue their active but stable military training. Therefore, none of the above-mentioned conditions are fulfilled," the army said in the post.

RUSSIA AS A CONSTANT THREAT

According to the army, Russia unequivocally poses a threat to Lithuania, but "it has never been otherwise".

"The Russian threat to Lithuania has been a constant since around the 15th century when the first war between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Moscow took place, and that's what we simply have to learn to live with," the army said.

The army also points out that Russia has more military capabilities today than it had in 2022, and its army is growing, but the newly created units are not being deployed in areas of direct threat to Lithuania.

Lithuania is one of the biggest defense spenders among NATO countries, and around 1,000 American troops are also deployed in the country.

However, recent statements by new US administration officials visiting Europe have fueled speculation that some American troops may be withdrawn from the continent.

According to the army, the deployment of each country's forces abroad is their national decision, but the two US battalions deployed in Lithuania are "training today, as they did yesterday, on their own and with Lithuanian troops".

DIVISION AS OPPORTUNITY NOT TO STAY LONG IN TRENCHES

Lithuania aims to establish a national division and also get ready to host the planned German brigade by 2030.

"A division is our chance to not sit long in the trenches and to hit the enemy the way they should be hit. Secondly, we are strengthening our intelligence capabilities. Intelligence from afar allows us to prepare in time and put the right antidotes in the right place," the army post reads.

"Third, we are preparing day and night for the transition to universal conscription, and our key task is to ensure that everyone willing and able to serve are able to do so, because there is no shortage of people who want to serve in the army after 2022, but the number of places in the army is limited," the army said.

Lithuania plans to spend 5-6 percent of its gross domestic product on defense over the next five years. According to the army, building barracks and buying weapons requires money, but "paying with money now is better than paying with lives later".