Taking into account the increasing flow of illegal order crossings in the recent days, a decision has been taken to send additional military personnel with military vehicles to patrol the area of the state border of Lithuania with Belarus again, up to additional 64 troops in 24 hours.
“What we have always been saying is that the Lithuanian Armed Forces is rendering and will be rendering assistance concerning the hybrid attack management based on requirement, we are ready for it. The Frontex support has also been extended, we are getting more access to allied helicopter capabilities, we are not alone in this crisis,” says Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas.
“A twist back to an increasing tendency that we are observing in illegal border crossings from Belarus alerts us to get ready for the worst scenarios. As long as we do not have advanced border surveillance systems fully at work, nor a physical barrier along all the border length, we need to strengthen the physical protection by patrols. We have agreed to additional military personnel to aid the border guard officers,” says Minister A. Bilotaitė.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces is currently providing assistance to the State Border Guard under the Ministry of the Interior which ensures border guard patrols in 8 border crossing points, and the Public Security Service under the Ministry of the Interior which provides protection of the migrant housing sites. Lithuanian Armed Forces servicemembers are building the razor-wire fencing and completing other similar tasks.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces has been asked to extend the assistance until December 31, 2021. The emergency situation on the border with Belarus remains intricate.
