Lithuania stations 100 soldiers at Kaliningrad border
Friday 9th October 2026 on 21:30 in
Lithuania
One hundred soldiers are currently on duty along Lithuania’s border with Russia’s Kaliningrad region, and the number could be increased if necessary, Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said. Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas said the current deployment was sufficient. Defence experts told LRT that the key purpose is to send the Kremlin a deterrence message.
Talk of a possible new mobilisation in Russia has been growing, according to Ukrainian intelligence, media reports and analysts. When Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation in 2022, people trying to leave Russia formed queues at the border with Georgia. Lithuanian border guards increased their presence at the time, but did not record a mass flow of people leaving Kaliningrad.
“We are seeing talk of mobilisation of Russian citizens. Naturally, people will flee mobilisation,” Kaunas said. He said the troops were deployed to guard against possible incidents, including ones similar to an incident reported in Latvia this week, when armed, masked escorts pushed a group of migrants towards the border. The number of soldiers and the length of their deployment could be extended if needed, he added.
Katelynas said people of Lithuanian descent fleeing mobilisation would be assessed in the same way as anyone else applying for asylum. Their eligibility would be considered, he said. The minister has previously said that mobilisation alone is not sufficient grounds for receiving asylum.
Defence experts said the size of the deployment mattered less than the message it sent. Tomas Godliauskas, head of the Universal Defence Association, said the number of soldiers could grow rapidly and that their presence signalled that both the military and other institutions could respond.
Retired Colonel Gintaras Bagdonas said border guards were civilian officials with some statutory duties, which was why soldiers had joined them. He warned that provocations were possible and said Lithuania should be prepared for attempts to create political crises in NATO countries and disrupt support for Ukraine.
Border guards say an average of 300 people cross the Panemunė border checkpoint each day. Most are Russian citizens with residence permits in Europe.