When the war caused by Russia crossed the border of Ukraine and a missile in Poland killed two people, President Gitanas Nausėda said that NATO must strengthen its defense more quickly, LNK reports.

I really hope that by next year’s NATO summit in Vilnius, we will be able to demonstrate progress in this area,” said President G. Nausėda.

G. Nausėda emphasized that it is other NATOs that have the greatest power in Eastern Europe, because at least Lithuania did what it could.

“So Lithuania’s reaction to the situation is adequate,” said the President of Lithuania.

But what exactly does Lithuania expect from NATO?

“During the Madrid summit, the countries agreed that the creation and development of the air defense system is a priority,” said Kęstutis Budrys, chief adviser to the president.

It is recognized that NATO simply does not have enough air defense capabilities to deploy in all the countries bordering Russia and Belarus.

“We fully understand that the capabilities that could cover the airspace with the entire complex from top to bottom across NATO’s eastern border do not currently exist,” said K. Budrys.

The entire LNK report is in the video:

Thus, while NATO members cannot deploy adequate air defense capabilities on the ground throughout Eastern Europe, the air defense of the eastern countries is ensured at a distance. Reconnaissance aircraft constantly monitor not only Ukraine, but also Belarus, Kaliningrad. NATO aircraft carriers are on standby in the European region – NATO aviation could come from other European countries.

“Air defense is very often in the air. Fighter jets also at sea – on NATO ships. The commander of NATO forces in Europe already has the authority to send additional air and sea forces quickly if necessary,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

The Presidency emphasizes that it is not only the capacities, but also the plans for how those capacities would be sent that are very important. There are always skeptics who say that NATO is a bureaucratic organization. NATO members have different views on Russia, and if one needs to be told by the other, the decision-making will be stuck. According to the presidency, the incident in Poland shows the opposite.

“What does NATO show during this incident in Poland?” How quickly and how flexibly you can react”, said K. Budrys.

The missile landed in Poland on Tuesday afternoon. Poland explained for several hours and it was made public around 18:00. A few hours later, the NATO commander announced that he was calling for urgent negotiations. The next morning, NATO ambassadors were already meeting in Brussels, NATO’s reaction was announced at noon. Since the Poles did not ask for NATO’s help, the Alliance limited itself to comments. The NATO commander responded to a question about whether the fact that a missile from the war zone in Ukraine flew into NATO member Poland, killing two people, does not indicate that NATO’s air defenses have gaps.

We are concerned and think now is a very good time to start talking about the security of the eastern wing of the Alliance. We need to deploy much more effective air defense systems.

“Air defense systems in the East are designed to protect us from attacks by cruise ballistic missiles. Then there are specific characteristics. We watch and decide if it’s an attack or something else. As I said, this time there will be a deviation of Ukrainian air defense. That missile did not have the characteristics of an attack,” Mr. Stoltenberg said.

Speaking to the Czech Radio, President G. Nausėda singled out a possible challenge, that after the incident in Poland, NATO would not give priority only to the defense of Poland, at least in the near future.

“We are concerned and we think now is a very good time to start talking about the security of the eastern wing of the Alliance. We need to deploy much more effective air defense systems. They are needed along the entire eastern border of NATO. It is inefficient to have it only in Poland, but not in the Baltic countries”, said G. Nausėda.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis, who visited Germany a week ago, also presented proposals on defense. So that the Seimas could pass a law on the German brigade in Lithuania.

“I would not reject such a proposal that it should be confirmed by its own law,” said G. Landsbergis.

According to G. Landsbergis, the law would ensure that even after a change of government, Lithuania continues the construction necessary to receive the German brigade, and would also send a signal to the Germans.

“Until 2026 we are ready to receive the brigade in full. This means – with equipment, a necessary garage, warehouses and people who could be in Lithuania”, said G. Landsbergis.

The Presidency does not comment on new initiatives regarding the German brigade.