The Lithuanian defense minister announced on October 9 that the country has fortified and blocked a bridge across the Nieman River linking it with the Russian exclave Kaliningrad.
Laurynas Kaciunas posted a Facebook message stating that “dragons’ teeth” obstacles were deployed on the structure. The iron beams have also been reinforced.
Kasciunas stated that other bridges leading into Kaliningrad will also be fortified and some might even be mined.
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has heightened fears of an open conflict between Moscow, Russia‘s ally Belarus, and NATO. Lithuania, which borders Belarus and Kaliningrad and is bordered by Russia, would be among the first countries to be threatened by such a conflict.
Kaliningrad Oblast, a small territory heavily armed, is located between the Baltic Sea with NATO members Poland and Lithuania. The Baltic Sea Fleet’s headquarters and main base are located in Kaliningrad Oblast.
“Kaliningrad, as a Russian weapons depot is essentially, has a lot military equipment that’s in use and not just in storage,” Elisabeth Braw told the Kyiv Independent in the beginning of this year.
The Estonian Defense Ministry announced on Jan. 19 that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus have agreed to build a Baltic Defense Line in the next few years to strengthen their eastern border with Belarus.
Vilnius has been a staunch ally of Ukraine since the outbreak in the full-scale conflict, resulting in a sharp deterioration in relations with Moscow.
The country has provided 155-mm ammo, armored personnel carrier, winter clothing and anti-drone system.
On October 6, it was reported that Lithuanian customs officers found military uniforms and nets on passenger trains traveling between the Russian exclave Kaliningrad and Moscow, sending them to Ukraine in order to provide military aid.
Last week, another incident occurred on the Kaliningrad – Moscow railway. One carriage of a train that arrived at the Kena checkpoint at the Lithuanian-Belarusian borders displayed the letter Z, a symbol commonly used by Russian invasion forces in Ukraine.
Another carriage had an inscription referring to Vilnius as “Russian City,” the capital of Lithuania.
Lithuania was annexed by the Soviet Union along with other Baltic states during World War II. The nation only declared its independence in 1990.
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