Lithuania is quietly preparing for escalation, prime minister says after Tusk warning

Lithuania says it is preparing for possible escalation without publicly detailing every measure. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said the country’s intelligence services, both civilian and military, were monitoring the situation and periodic escalations.

“Preparing quietly, we do not explain too much what we are doing,” Sinkevičius told journalists at the government. He said Lithuania was strengthening protection for strategic sites, investing heavily in military defense capabilities and considering how to secure its airspace more quickly.

The prime minister said some of the work received too little public attention, but not every detail could be discussed. Friendly and potentially hostile countries could be watching and reading about Lithuania’s actions, he said.

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We are preparing quietly, we do not explain too much what we are doing. We are strengthening the protection of our strategic sites, intensively financing our military defense capabilities and thinking about how to ensure the security of our airspace even more and faster.

His remarks came after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Russia could intensify the war in Ukraine and provoke NATO. After speaking with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Tusk wrote on X that the next six months would be decisive as Russia increased tensions and that Poland and other alliance members needed to be prepared.

Tusk also said Ukraine needed greater air-defense support to resist Russian aggression, adding that the assistance was important for Poland’s security and should be treated as a responsibility for all of Europe.

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The next six months will be decisive, so Poland and the alliance countries must be prepared.