Lithuania Deploys Troops to Kaliningrad Border

In brief: The Lithuanian Defense Minister responded to a request by the Interior Minister to bolster the border with Kaliningrad by deploying around 100 troops to support border guards. The move came after concerns were raised by an incursion by illegal immigrants across the Latvia-Belarus border overnight on Oct. 5-6.

On Wednesday, Oct. 7, LRT reported that Lithuania’s Defense Minister, Robertas Kaunas, had ordered the deployment of military personnel to assist border guards along the border with Kaliningrad .

The initial deployment of 100 troops came in response to a request from Interior Minister Martynas Katelinas following an incident on the Latvia-Belarus border during the night of Oct. 5-6, when 20 migrants, reportedly escorted by armed men, attempted to cross illegally into Latvia.

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Speaking to LRT, Kaunas said the deployment was initially planned for “a couple of weeks” but stressed that the situation would be continuously assessed. If necessary, both the duration of the mission and the number of troops could be increased.

“The process is dynamic. We are monitoring the environment and here, together with the Minister of Internal Affairs, with the approval of the Government, we will respond as necessary,” Kaunas said.

The attempted incursion into Latvia is being viewed as another example of Russian-backed hybrid activity aimed at increasing pressure on Europe’s eastern borders. Per LRT reports, nearly 12,000 people have been prevented from illegally crossing the Latvian border from Belarus this year. In August, several individuals were apprehended after using two tunnels dug between the two countries.

According to Latvia’s Interior Minister, Jānis Dombrava, writing on X , the Oct. 5-6 incident involved a group of masked and armed individuals who attempted to push around 20 illegal migrants into Latvian territory from Belarus. The group openly threatened Latvian military personnel and border guards.

On Tuesday morning, Oct. 6, the armed group reportedly crossed the border again, vandalized an electrical distribution cabinet, and removed border surveillance cameras before retreating back into Belarus ahead of a response by Latvian authorities.

On Facebook , Kaunas said that Lithuania was also increasingly concerned that similar incidents could occur along its own border. In addition, authorities were monitoring the growing risk of a possible Russian mobilization, which could trigger an influx of Russian citizens seeking to avoid conscription.

“Security is being strengthened with preventive purposes, seeing signals of a possible increase in aggressive foreigners due to possible mobilization in the Russian federation,” Kaunas wrote.

One issue of particular concern is the lack of any physical barriers on the border with Kaliningrad, to which he noted:

“On the border with Belarus, we also have physical protection, that is, a wall and a fence have been built, so the measures to protect the border have been strengthened. At the same time, on the Kaliningrad side, we do not have physical barriers, so more people are needed to ensure border protection. This is a question of human resources.”

The Interior Minister echoed these points on Wednesday on Facebook, saying: “We are strengthening the protection of the border with Kaliningrad - we are using the military. After yesterday’s incident on the Latvian border, having assessed the overall security situation in the region and signals that Russia may announce mobilization, we are taking additional preventive actions.”

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