Lithuania Has Evacuation Plans Ready if Russia Attacks: PM
Speaking Tuesday, Sinkevicius said residents across Lithuania feel "constantly threatened" by Moscow, a sentiment fueled in part by repeated drone incursions into the country's skies.
Should an attack materialize, the response would be forceful, he said: "we will fight back... we will engage." Yet he also detailed how officials have readied themselves for a "variety of scenarios" — among them, arrangements to relocate elderly citizens out of urban centers "smoothly" while avoiding gridlock on the roads.
A NATO member, Lithuania borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad directly by land.
"We're thinking about a variety of scenarios, not all of them are being discussed very much publicly," Sinkevicius said.
"We face concrete threats, not on a daily basis, but we're experiencing them and it's a true reality for us."
The prime minister further argued that the UK must undergo a "shift in the mindset" regarding its defense posture, while conceding that Lithuania sits "closer to the border and closer to [the] threat."
His remarks arrive just days after NATO fighter jets downed a drone that had breached Lithuanian airspace.
Although the drone's point of origin remains unconfirmed officially, Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas told a news agency that it had approached from the direction of Belarus — a country bordering Lithuania and a close ally of Russia.
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