© Reuters. Units of the German Patriot air defense system are seen at Vilnius Airport in Vilnius, Lithuania, July 7, 2023. REUTERS/Janice Lysance
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(This July 8 story has been reworded to remove the extraneous word “vehicles” in paragraph 6, and change “procedures” to “equipment” in paragraph 8)
Posted by Andrios Sitas
KANIUKAI, Lithuania (Reuters) – NATO has turned Vilnius into a fortress defended by advanced weaponry to protect U.S. President Joe Biden and other alliance leaders who meet next week just 32 km from Lithuania’s barbed-wire border fence with Russia’s ally Belarus. .
Sixteen NATO allies have sent a total of about a thousand troops to protect the July 11-12 summit, which will be held just 151 kilometers from Russia itself. Many also offer advanced air defense systems that the Baltic states lack.
“It would be more than irresponsible for our skies to be unprotected with the arrival of Biden and the leaders of 40 countries,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said.
The Baltic states of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, which were once under Moscow’s rule but have been part of both NATO and the European Union since 2004, all spend more than 2% of their economies on defence, a larger share than most other NATO allies.
But for a region with a total population of about 6 million people, this is not enough to maintain large armies, or invest in its fighter jets or advanced air defense.
Germany has deployed 12 Patriot missile launchers, which are used to intercept ballistic and cruise missiles or warplanes.
Spain has brought in the NASAMS air defense system, France is sending Caesar self-propelled guns, France, Finland and Denmark are setting up military aircraft in Lithuania, and providing the UK and France with anti-drone capabilities.
Poland and Germany sent special operations forces, reinforced by helicopters. Others send equipment to deal with any potential chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks.
For Nauseda, the Allied efforts to ensure air safety during the leader’s meeting meant that NATO needed to urgently set up permanent air defenses in the Baltics.
“We are thinking about what will happen after the summit is over and we will work with allies to create a rotating force for permanent air protection,” he told reporters.
no audacity
Locals in villages near the Belarusian border told Reuters they felt completely safe despite an offer by a Russian ally to absorb Russia’s Wagner militia and host Russian nuclear weapons.
Edward said, “Do you think Wagner or Belarus can attack Lithuania, which is a member of NATO? They don’t have the courage. NATO is NATO, and we feel safe because we are in NATO. Why should we fear these Belarusians?” Rynkun, 67, in Kaniukai, a village 1 km (less than a mile) from Belarus.
“If only Lithuania was alone, I would feel differently,” he added. “Without NATO membership, things here could already be the same as in Ukraine,” said Elena Tarasevich, 55, a neighbor of Rincon.
At Vilnius Airport, eight German-operated Patriot missile launchers are seen standing with their nozzles pointed toward Russia’s Kaliningrad. Two others pointed toward Belarus. All launch pads have been operational since Friday morning.
“You know your geographic location, and you know very well where the threat is coming from,” said Lt. Col. Stephen Leib, Patriot Deployment Commander.
“Lithuania asked us to protect the summit, and NATO asked Germany for help. This is our response,” he added.
Triple
Lithuania tripled its border guard deployment on the Belarusian and Russian borders over the summer, reinforced by officers from Latvia and Poland. The two countries also sent police to help patrol Vilnius.
“We are preparing for various provocations,” said Border Guard Commander Rustamas Lyubaivas. He added that he feared the appearance of waves of migrants at the border, border violations, or the appearance of military vehicles at the border without explanation.
Thousands of migrants from the Middle East crossed the Belarusian border in 2021, in an effort Lithuania and the European Union said was orchestrated by Minsk, a charge it denies. The numbers have fallen since then.
“The situation is really very tense, because of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. So (border protection) was already at a very high level (before the summit),” Lyubaivas said.
Checks at Lithuania’s EU borders with Poland and Latvia were reintroduced at the summit.
The mayor of Vilnius suggested that citizens go for a holiday outside the city if they want to avoid disruption, as large parts of central Vilnius will be closed for the summit.
(This July 8 story has been reworded to remove the extraneous word “vehicles” in paragraph 6, and change “procedures” to “equipment” in paragraph 8)
