Lithuania calls on NATO countries not to ignore threat from Russia

Lithuania calls on NATO countries not to ignore threat from Russia

Russia considers its neighboring states to be part of its "empire", so these countries will always be under the threat of Russian invasion. A full-scale Russian war against Ukraine can be part of Moscow’s larger plan.

This was stated by Vaidotas Urbelis, Director of Defence Policy at the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence, Business Insider reports. He noted that Lithuania should be prepared for possible Russian aggression.

The Lithuanian official noted that despite Russia’s heavy losses in Ukraine, there are now more occupiers in its army than before the invasion. Also, the Russian armed forces have vast experience in conducting large-scale warfare, which should be considered as part of the planning.

“If you just look at the numbers, you will see that there are more people in the Russian armed forces now than before the invasion of Ukraine,” Urbelis said.

As for military equipment, the occupying forces of the Russian Federation also lost many pieces of equipment on the battlefield in Ukraine, but Moscow, in his opinion, will be able to recover very quickly. The aggressor country is already increasing weapons production to eliminate shortages and reconsidering some ineffective tactics.

Urbelis said that Lithuania should be ready to respond to Russia’s aggression at any time until the NATO mechanism works. Specifically, state preparedness should include deploying more Alliance troops, increasing defense spending, and strengthening border security.