LITHUANIA – Up to 100 soldiers at the border, security measures stepped up near Kaliningrad

RIGA, 8 October /ATSH-DPA/ – Lithuania is strengthening its border with the Russian region of Kaliningrad as a precautionary measure, Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas announced today.

Katelynas said he has asked Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas to send soldiers to help the border guards.

He stressed that the situation at the border is currently calm and that sending the soldiers is a preventive measure.

The Defence Minister approved the deployment of the army and said that up to 100 soldiers will be deployed to guard the border.

The plan is for the soldiers to stay in the border area near Kaliningrad for several weeks.

The number of soldiers and the length of their stay may change, depending on how the situation develops.

Lithuania is a member of the European Union and NATO. It borders the Russian region of Kaliningrad and Belarus, which is an ally of Russia.

Since the Russian attack on Ukraine, the Lithuanian authorities have expressed particular concern for the country’s security.

Both the Interior Minister and the Defence Minister mentioned as one of the reasons for sending the soldiers the incident at Latvia’s border with Belarus.

According to them, masked persons allegedly attempted to illegally move a group of migrants across the border.

The Defence Minister said other reasons are the general security situation in the region and several signs that may point to a possible military mobilisation by Russia.