Defence ministry proposes updated counter-mobility measures implementation plan

The Lithuanian defence ministry has proposed an updated plan for implementing military counter-mobility measures, including the installation of engineering equipment parks along the border and the mounting of reserve barriers on key roads, LRT reports.

The updated proposal, submitted to the government, extends the deadline for setting up engineering equipment parks on state land near Lithuania’s borders with Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad region from April 2025 to the end of 2028.

It also requires coordination with state-owned railway infrastructure company LTG Infra when using state land under its trust management for storing military counter-mobility engineering equipment.

By the end of this year, the ministry proposes amending legal acts governing bridge design to mandate the installation of structures for bridge demolition in all newly built and reconstructed bridges. The plan also delays the installation of reserve barriers on sections of state-significance roads and approaches to bridges, as well as the attachment of engineering structures for explosives, from the beginning of this year to the end of 2028.

Additionally, by the end of next year, the ministry aims to complete the design and restoration of drainage ditches and regulated streams to their original technical parameters in the Šakiai and Vilkaviškys districts. The initial plan had also included Marijampolė district.

By 2030, wetlands in priority areas identified by the military are to be restored. Previously, it was decided to form tree lines and install necessary engineering traffic safety measures on sections of state-significance roads by the end of next year.

In 2024, the defence ministry announced plans to expand the scope of counter-mobility measures, allocating €9 million for this purpose under the civil defence strengthening programme until 2030. Lithuania’s first counter-mobility equipment park was opened in Pabradė in August 2024.