Vištytis residents say life goes on as soldiers patrol border

Residents of Vištytis say daily life has not changed despite Lithuanian soldiers joining border patrols near Kaliningrad. LRT reported that locals are not unsettled by the Russian threat or the military presence alongside border guards.

“There’s nothing really frightening here, unlike what I read in many places these days,” Sandra told BNS as she hurried home with groceries. She is one of a few hundred residents of Vištytis, in the Vilkaviškis district.

The town centre was quiet on a gloomy autumn day, with only a few people heading to a nearby shop. Sandra, 31, said residents had noticed more patrols and occasional military vehicles, but little else had changed.

“Normal life, everything is as it was. We’re not making any special preparations, stocking up on food or preparing shelters. Like everyone in Lithuania, we’re just living our lives,” she said.

Soldiers have been assisting border guards since early October, with about 100 expected to continue until mid-November. Officials have described the deployment as a preventive measure in response to the possibility of a new mobilisation wave in Russia, while institutions say the threat level at the border has not increased.

Rimantas Kundreckis, head of the Vištytis border post within the State Border Guard Service’s Pagėgiai Border Guard Unit, said surveillance had been increased on land, water and in the air to prevent possible deserters from crossing the border illegally.

The military support has nearly doubled the frequency of patrols along the border with Kaliningrad. Lithuania’s border with Russia, including its territorial sea boundary, is nearly 300 kilometres long and crosses plains, forests and bodies of water.

At Vištytis, a lake separates Lithuania from Kaliningrad. Red posts in the water mark how far people who have provided their details to border guards may travel. A second row of yellow posts, 50 metres farther on, marks the end of Lithuanian territory. The lake is monitored by cameras and patrolled by a border guard boat.

Kundreckis said increased monitoring had helped reduce accidental border violations. In the past, people out fishing or relaxing on the lake sometimes failed to notice they were approaching Russian territory. Border guards can now warn them in advance using the contact details they have provided or by approaching in a service boat.

The latest violation recorded by the Vištytis border post was at the beginning of the year, when two Russian citizens entered Lithuania.