Lithuania Erects Border Fence Before Russian Exercises Begin
They hope it prevents any incidents.
Russia will begin military exercises in its exclave of Kaliningrad in September. As you all know, former Soviet Republics have been on their toes since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014 and annexed Crimea. They’re all taking precautions to protect themselves from Russia, including Lithuania. From Reuters:
Lithuania has began constructing a two-meter high wire fence along its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad ahead of military exercises Moscow is planning to hold there in September.
While the 45-km-long (30 mile) fence will provide little defense against a full-scale attack, it aims to prevent provocations and incidents, Lithuanian Interior Minister Eimutis Misiunas said on Monday.
“In order to avoid such situations, we decided we need the fence”, Misiunas said at the groundbreaking ceremony.
For Lithuania and other Baltic republics, which won their independence from Moscow in 1991 but remain home to ethnic Russian minorities, any massing of Russian troops near their borders spreads concern, especially since the 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula by Moscow.
Although Russia has not disclosed the size of the Zapad (West) exercises that it holds every four years on its western borders, analysts have said that this year’s drill may be the largest in quarter of a century, with a movement of about 100,000 Russian troops expected.
The recent deployment of 1,000 NATO troops to Poland and each of the Baltic states has unnerved Moscow, which had warned in January that it was a bad idea.
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