Lithuania announced on Monday its commitment to invest 1.1 billion euros (approximately $1.2 billion) over the next ten years to strengthen its border with Russia and Belarus, with a significant portion of the funds allocated for the purchase of anti-tank mines.
Sharing borders with both Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave and northwestern Belarus, Lithuania, alongside its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia, has expressed concerns about becoming potential targets if Russia emerges victorious in its ongoing war against Ukraine.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, all three Baltic nations have ramped up their defense measures, enhancing border security in response to what they characterize as a migrant surge supported by the Kremlin.
The Lithuanian Defense Ministry stated that the new investments are intended to “impede and slow the operations of adversarial nations,” specifying that around 800 million euros of the budget will be directed towards anti-tank mines.
The ministry emphasized its commitment to ensuring the viability of the proposed “Baltic defense line,” highlighting additional initiatives such as amassing anti-tank armaments, strengthening electronic warfare and anti-drone capabilities, and improving early warning systems.
In January, Lithuania revealed its plans to increase defense expenditure to between 5% and 6% of GDP annually from 2026 through 2030.
The nation also intends to enhance its defenses around the Suwalki Gap, a crucial land corridor linking Lithuania and Poland, acknowledged as NATO’s most vulnerable access point. Military experts caution that if control of the Suwalki Gap is lost, it could isolate the Baltic states from the rest of the alliance.
Other defensive strategies include deepening irrigation ditches to serve as trenches, reforesting essential border areas, and planting trees along roadways to protect civilians and military personnel.
This year, Lithuania, in collaboration with Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Poland, announced its intention to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the use, production, and stockpiling of anti-personnel landmines.
This decision has faced significant rebuke from humanitarian organizations, including Amnesty International and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which have raised alarms about the long-term impact of landmines on civilian populations.
