Lithuania’s emergency reserves may fail to reach people in time during crisis or war

Only about 10% of Lithuania’s state reserve storage sites have been selected based on real threats, meaning critical supplies may not reach the population in time during a crisis or war, a new audit by the National Audit Office has found.

The report, published Monday, reveals that some reserves are stored in locations that could become inaccessible or destroyed in an emergency, while medical and food supplies are unevenly distributed across the country. Additionally, several warehouses—including those holding medical and civil protection equipment—are in areas that would require evacuation during a crisis, undermining their purpose.

The audit urges the Government Chancellery to reorganise reserve storage by assessing potential risks and their consequences, while increasing decentralisation to bring supplies closer to residents. Authorities have been given until the end of September to draft a warehouse expansion strategy and until 2030 to implement it.

This year, the Chancellery also plans to finalise a national extreme situation management plan, clearly defining action scenarios, institutional responsibilities, and required resources.

The audit highlights systemic flaws in food reserve distribution, which relies on municipalities for the first three days of a crisis, followed by local governments from days four to six, and state reserves from day seven onward. However, most municipalities currently do not stockpile supplies. State Auditor General Irena Segalovičienė stressed that municipalities must have a clearly defined, mandatory role in reserve accumulation to ensure real preparedness.

Further issues include poorly planned logistics for delivering reserves, risking delays in transporting supplies from distant warehouses. The audit also notes that Lithuania does not physically stockpile food—instead, contracts with private suppliers are used—but this model fails to ensure even distribution nationwide.

To address these gaps, authorities will evaluate whether to reserve or procure and store food supplies, assess supplier capacities, clarify municipal roles, and centralise logistics services through new legislation.