Minister says Lithuania clearly identifies aggressor behind hybrid threats

Lithuania clearly identifies the aggressor and can respond objectively to hybrid threats, Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas told ELTA, according to LRT. Retired Colonel Gintaras Bagdonas said that national defence begins not with weapons but with the preparedness of citizens.

Kaunas said recent terrorist acts in Poland, the Baltic states and Germany followed the same pattern and had the same sponsor. He said NATO countries were increasingly recognising this, allowing them to respond in a united way.

Lithuania has strengthened the protection of critical infrastructure, while the armed forces have prepared clear contingency plans. Kaunas said the plans were not public because revealing them would also inform the opposing side.

The Defence Ministry has extended enhanced protection of critical infrastructure against possible drone attacks, sabotage and other hybrid threats until next year. Physical and electronic security measures are being installed at energy facilities, emergency equipment reserves are being built up, and systems for detecting and neutralising unmanned aircraft are already operating at some strategic facilities.

Kaunas said each country was strengthening its preparedness in its own way, but stressed that NATO unity was the main tool for deterring Russia.

If countries tried to deter Russia separately, they would probably lose, he said. A united NATO response sends Russia clear and unambiguous signals, with each statement and action supported by additional plans that are not public.

Colonel urges greater public preparedness

Bagdonas said responsibility for responding to potential war threats should not fall solely on the armed forces. He said citizens also needed to prepare themselves.

The armed forces are training and preparing, but national defence begins with people rather than weapons, Bagdonas said. He added that defence should be a matter for society as well as the Defence Ministry and the military.

In an emergency, people should be prepared to manage on their own for at least the first 72 hours, Bagdonas said. If the military is defending Lithuania and all resources are directed to the battlefield while much of society is in chaos and panic, the situation would become extremely difficult.

He said society needed to be enabled to resist and support the state in ways that went beyond taking up arms. Citizens should know who would provide food and medical assistance, support the information effort, build fortifications and block the enemy, he said.

Bagdonas also stressed the importance of cooperation between institutions and clear rules setting out what each ministry would have to do in a critical situation. He said he had doubts about whether institutions knew their roles and became involved effectively.

Enemy planners would not respect institutional divisions of responsibility, Bagdonas said, adding that some actions in Lithuania sometimes appeared insufficiently coordinated.