A.Anušauskas: Russian troops to Belarus 3-4 times larger than through Zapad
According to A.Anauskas, the concentration of forces in Belarus is changing the security security in the region.
“I am not just talking about Ukraine. I am also talking about Lithuania and Lithuanian security. There are, of course, news challenges for the security of both our neighbors and Poland. “During the Zapad exercise, we emphasized the emergence of Russian forces at our border, but the forces that are now being sent to Belarus are 3-4 times larger,” the Minister of National Defense said.
He explained that the situation in Lithuania is being discussed in various political formats – how it is developing, what the response may be, what plans and how this will fundamentally change the security in the region.
“If we were discussing what to do during an illegal hybrid attack back in the summer of last year, there are definitely new challenges now. So we are considering our ability to react, we are talking to our partners and allies, “A. Anušauskas commented to journalists on Monday.
Whether there will be a war, in his words, no one can say. According to the minister, decisions on decisions are made in the Kremlin, the initiative is on their side.
The minister said that no Eastern European country that has joined NATO has threatened or threatens to neighboring countries.
Russia, on the other hand, is mobilizing more and more forces in our region.
“I think that the current situation requires answers from both the Russian side – for whom those forces will be used and how long they will be, for example, in Belarus, I am no longer talking about forces concentrated on the Ukrainian border, and on the other hand, NATO and Lithuania need to respond. back to this, ”A. Anušauskas taught.
The Minister of National Defense confirmed that additional NATO capabilities in the region are being discussed.
“Undoubtedly, certain plans are planned, as well as the reaction time is planned for Lithuania. But all this changes depending on the assessment of the situation in our region.
“You yourself understand that any change in the situation at the Ukrainian border, such as any conflict in the current circumstances, is the slightest conflict, knowing that accumulation systems have increased NATO’s response and capacity here in our region, in the Baltics, in Poland,” he said.
Photo of the Lithuanian Armed Forces / NATO strengthens the security of the Baltic States, additional fighter jets are deployed in Lithuania
The Minister also said that the Alliance’s air policing mission in the Baltic States was being strengthened.
He recalled that both Denmark and the United States had declared that they were allocating additional capabilities to the mission.
“They will be in Lithuania this week. If the situation required even more other capacities, they would also be allocated in the same way, ”said A. Anušauskas.
The Lithuanian army has its own plans, its own reaction to what is happening at our state border. However, according to the Minister of Defense, this is not detailed.
Forces are also being directed by Belarus
Tensions in Eastern Europe are growing.
Foreign Minister Gabriel Landsberg said at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday that war was likely.
“Yes, we are convinced that a real war is a likely opportunity,” he said.
Authoritarian Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said he would withdraw “the entire Belarusian contingent” from the border with Ukraine because “Ukrainians have begun to mobilize there.”.
NATO allies announce increased force readiness of both military ships and fighter jets to strengthen the bloc’s east wing defense.
The New York Times reports that US President Joe Biden is considering deploying several thousand years of troops, as well as warships and planes, to NATO’s Baltic and Allied countries in the East.
Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of Russia’s State Duma Defense Committee, said Russia would “react accordingly”.
“Of course, Russia will not leave such actions unanswered and will take adequate measures to respond to the threat,” he said.