Lithuania will prepare a nationwide mass evacuation plan by October this year. All because the country is "at the forefront" and civil defense has become a priority.
The Minister of Internal Affairs of the country, Agne Bilotaite, announced this at a press conference, reports LRT.
She emphasized that the war against Ukraine continues, and for the Baltic region, which constantly faces hybrid and disinformation attacks, sabotage is a "new reality."
Agne Bilotaite noted that the efforts of Lithuania alone are not enough, therefore the state will cooperate with other Baltic countries and apply for funding from the European Union.
"We need to move from civil protection to civil defense. Times have changed, and we have to adapt civil defense to hybrid and military threats," said the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Lithuania.
What preceded
In July, on the initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Lithuania, the Seimas approved a program for strengthening and developing civil defense. It is about the creation of new shelters, an alert system, a special mobile application and funding of €285 million. This is not the first time that Lithuania and other Baltic countries are trying to counter alleged military threats from Russia and Belarus.
In January of this year, the Ministry of Defense of Estonia informed that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will create a joint line of defense on the border with Russia to "deter and, if necessary, defend against a military threat."
In June, the Baltic states called on the European Union to allocate money for the construction of a defense line along the border with Russia and Belarus — it is estimated to cost €2.5 billion. The Baltic states say it will "address the acute and urgent need to secure the EU against military and hybrid threats."
In July, Lithuania began construction of a military base — up to four thousand German soldiers will be stationed there.
According to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Latvia, the country is creating safe underground shelters — 5 thousand are planned by November this year.
The Vice-Chancellor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia said that at the beginning of 2024, the Estonian authorities approved a 4- and 10-year action plan in the field of civil protection. According to her, the Baltic states should prepare for the "worst case scenario" and in case of war, warn the population through SMS messages and other notification channels.