Over a billion euros: What Lithuania has done and will do to secure its border

Lithuania is undertaking a significant defense buildup along its eastern NATO border, with plans and completed projects totaling over one billion euros. The initiative aims to bolster security against potential threats from Belarus and the Kaliningrad region.

According to the Ministry of National Defense, in the past year, 26 engineering parks were established along the Lithuanian border. Additionally, 18 roads and 9 bridges have been prepared for blocking operations. Fifteen temporarily inactive border crossing points, including two railway crossings, have also been secured. Legal changes have been enacted to facilitate tree clearing near the border, effective since the beginning of this year.

Ongoing and future projects include the implementation of further anti-mobility measures. This involves establishing an additional 24 engineering parks and installing reserve obstacles on road sections and near bridges, with engineering structures for explosives planned for bridges. Nine more sites are slated for blocking this year, including three national roads and six bridges. Contracts are being finalized with local municipalities for the restoration of melioration ditches and regulated streams, alongside plans to restore 20 kilometers of wetlands within 20 kilometers of the state border.

Legal work is also underway to establish a 20-meter-wide strip along the border with Belarus and the Kaliningrad region, and 150-meter-wide strips in designated operational areas. These measures will facilitate the deployment of military anti-mobility engineering tools on state and private land. Furthermore, legal regulations are being developed to mandate the inclusion of demolition structures in the design of new and reconstructed bridges. The ministry also announced the procurement of anti-mobility tools, including "dragon's teeth," "hedgehogs," and concertina wire, for all 60 municipalities.