Poland builds anti-tank barriers on its borders. Should Lithuania follow suit?

Poland is erecting anti-tank barriers along its border with Belarus and Kaliningrad. Should Lithuania do the same?

Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak has tweeted photos of the anti-tank barriers erected at the Poland-Kaliningrad border.

Rozpoczęliśmy prewencyjną rozbudowę zabezpieczeń na granicy z Rosją i Białorusią. To element naszej strategii obrony i odstraszania. Pierwsze umocnienia są już rozmieszczane na granicy z Obwodem Kaliningradzkim. pic.twitter.com/HODJlCgnvi
— Mariusz Błaszczak (@mblaszczak) February 23, 2023

However, Lithuania is only considering such measures.

“I have drafted a law on Lithuanian border fortification and counter-mobility measures, which stipulates that the government and the Defence Ministry should assess what measures are needed,” Laurynas Kasčiūnas, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence (NSGK), told reporters last week.

According to him, the national defence agreement signed in the parliament contains a provision on the implementation of counter-mobility measures.

The NSGK will discuss the fortification of the Lithuanian border sections this month, Kasčiūnas said. The parliament could also adopt a special law that would lay down the principles of counter-mobility measures, establishing legal and financial conditions, he added.

Retired Colonel Vaidotas Malinionis said that the threats from Russia and Belarus are not diminishing, so Lithuania should coordinate its defence with Poland.

“We are connected by the Suwalki Gap, and we have a common interest in securing that particular area from the Kaliningrad and Belarusian side,” he explained.

The border between Lithuania, Belarus, and Poland. | B. Gerdžiūnas / LRT

The so-called Suwalki Gap is an 80-kilometre stretch of land on the Polish-Lithuanian border. Separating Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus, it has also been dubbed NATO’s Achilles Heel. The alliance has stressed that if the corridor was seized during an armed conflict, the Baltic states would be cut off from the rest of NATO.

According to Malinionis, if Russia were to take hostile action, Lithuania’s unprotected border sections could lead to the easier passage of enemy forces.

“We certainly don’t want that. We want to be part of a common defence concept with our neighbours, and we need to talk to Poland consistently and closely,” he said.

Malinionis also stressed that counter-mobility measures do not work without human help. Poland is already preparing a division-sized unit to be deployed near Kaliningrad to defend the Suwalki Gap.