Lithuanian border guards and the Armed Forces are planning to hold joint drills on August 27 to prepare for potential threats on the Belarusian border.
"We are planning to hold an exercise [on August 27] together with the Armed Forces to test several scenarios," Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė told reporters on Thursday.
According to Bilotaitė, the first scenario concerns migration, "in case of some unusual situations", and the second involves responding to "a hybrid military threat" at the border.
Lithuania's authorities are also considering inviting border guards and other officers from Estonia, Latvia, and Poland to join the drills.
In early July, Lithuania's authorities approved a so-called border cover plan.
"We have just recently updated the border cover [protection] plan, that is, the interaction between the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) and the military at different threat levels," Bilotaitė said.
The Interior Ministry says the updated plans ensure a rapid reinforcement of forces at the Lithuanian border in the event of a high threat level, without the need for additional inter-institutional coordination.
The plans were updated in response to Wagner mercenaries arriving in Belarus following their short-lived mutiny in Russia. According to Baltic and Polish leaders, there are some 4,000 Wagner troops in Belarus.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
