Lithuania will step up security along its borders with Belarus and Russia during large-scale military drills by its neighbours, the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) said Tuesday.
The Zapad 2025 exercise, jointly organised by Russia and Belarus, begins Friday, with its active phase running through next Tuesday. Lithuania’s border guards will increase surveillance and patrols with support from other national defence agencies and the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, a volunteer paramilitary group.
“An operational response to possible incidents of various kinds will be ensured by using both reinforced forces and additional technical border control, criminal intelligence, and other measures and existing infrastructure,” the VSAT said in a statement.
During the drills, border officials will also carry out enhanced information-sharing and coordination efforts at both national and international levels.
Lithuanian Chief of Defence Raimundas Vaikšnoras said earlier that the military raised its readiness level in August and September in response to the planned exercises. Intelligence services estimate that up to 30,000 soldiers are expected to take part.
Border protections with Belarus and Russia were already strengthened in February 2022 after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and a surge in migrant crossings from Belarus into the European Union. Additional personnel, surveillance equipment, and infrastructure have been deployed since then.
The VSAT said this heightened level of vigilance remains necessary because of ongoing threats, including migrant flows facilitated by the Belarusian government, smuggling, border violations and what it described as “a hybrid attack on a regional scale coordinated by Russian special services”.
Lithuania shares a nearly 680-kilometre border with Belarus and a 274-kilometre frontier with Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave.
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