“NATO experts have been working closely with the Lithuanian authorities, sharing information, analysis and experience of countering hybrid threats. NATO continues to stand in solidarity with Lithuania and we will remain in close contact about security issues in the region. NATO will continue to monitor the situation on the Belarus border, which is putting migratory pressure on our Allies Lithuania, Latvia and Poland ,” said Michael Ruhle, Head of NATO-led Counter Hybrid Support Team. Today, the team he led concluded its work in Lithuania, where it spent nearly a couple of weeks analysing hybrid aggression against Lithuania.
The NATO team of experts, which arrived on 7 September and included experts from NATO countries in cyber security, the Baltic Sea region, policy planning, strategic communications and other areas, aimed to provide a comprehensive analysis of the security situation, the actions taken against Lithuania, and to make recommendations to Lithuania on how to respond, and to analyse the campaign against Lithuania as a practical case of “hybrid threats”, which could be used to draw conclusions for the Alliance in order to be better prepared for similar future challenges.
The NATO Hybrid Threat Support Team in Lithuania met with representatives of state institutions, the military, academia and NGOs, visited Rukla, travelled to the border, and made recommendations to Lithuania following a situation analysis.
“The activation of this NATO support team has not only played an expert advisory role, but also a symbolic one – it shows NATO’s involvement and solidarity and the recognition that the Alliance considers the actions against Lithuania as a hybrid attack,” said Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas, thanking the team for their work.
NATO decided to send the support team to Lithuania after receiving an official request from Lithuania. This was unanimously agreed by all NATO allies at the North Atlantic Council in August. According to Minister Anušauskas, the activation of the NATO Counter Hybrid Threat Support Team in Lithuania shows that the Allies are responsibly assessing the geopolitical context of Lithuania and are preparing for any possible incident.
The NATO Counter Hybrid Threat Support Team is an advisory-expert instrument of the Alliance, which a NATO country can request to activate in the event of an extraordinary hybrid situation. The request is made by the Member State to the NATO Secretary General, detailing the assistance required and the areas of need. NATO experts can help with hybrid threats in the areas of cyber security, energy security, counter-terrorism, civil preparedness and strategic communications. The decision to activate an expert group is taken by the North Atlantic Council.
The only activation of a NATO Counter Hybrid Threat Support Team to date has been in Montenegro in 2019, at the request of the Government of Montenegro.
In recent months, the hybrid aggression against Lithuania has been carried out by the Lukashenko regime. More than 4,000 migrants have entered the country illegally this year through the border with Belarus.
