Lithuania will spend 800 million euros on mining the border with Russia and Belarus
Ministry of Defense of Lithuania announced about a large-scale defense initiative: over the next decade, the country plans to spend 1.1 billion euros on strengthening its eastern border with Russia and Belarus. A key part of this amount — about 800 million euros — will be spent on the purchase and installation of anti-tank mines.
The agency attributes the move to growing concern over a possible threat from Russia, especially if it succeeds in its war against Ukraine. Given the fact that Lithuania borders the Kaliningrad region of Russia and northwestern Belarus, a scenario in which the Baltic states — Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia — could become Moscow’s next target is not excluded.
Future investments are aimed at “blocking and slowing down” possible aggression. In addition to minefields, Lithuania plans to actively develop the “Baltic Line of Defense” — a regional fortified border. The set of measures also provides for increasing the stockpile of anti-tank weapons, modernizing radio-electronic warfare systems and means of countering drones, as well as improving early warning systems.
In addition, Lithuania intends to involve natural and engineering solutions: among the planned measures are the expansion of reclamation canals that can function as trenches, the restoration of forests in border areas and the planting of trees along roads to camouflage civilians and military convoys.
We will remind that in January 2025, Lithuania announced its intention to increase the defense budget to 5-6% of GDP every year in the period from 2026 to 2030. Special attention is paid to the protection of the so-called Suwalki Corridor, a strategic section connecting Lithuania and Poland. In April, it became known about Lithuania’s plans to build a second supply route for the transfer of troops and equipment from Poland in order to guarantee the security of the Suwalki corridor.
