Lithuanian residents have confidence the Armed Forces and career military, are prepared to take took arms in defence of the country, trust the Allies and are in favor of their presence in Lithuania. 90% of the respondents support Lithuania’s NATO membership, more than a half (52%) of respondents would join armed resistance in case of aggression against Lithuania, 61% of respondents would join nonviolent resistance.
The public sentiment has been found by the public opinion poll carried out by request of the ministry of National Defence last December.
“The civic will to defend is inspiring. Our mission is to generate a proper power of the state so that Lithuania’s defensibility and deterrence against enemies is ensured. All threats can be defeated when prepared for properly,” says Minister of National Defence Dovilė Šakalienė.
The poll showed that nine respondents in ten were in favor of Lithuania’s membership in NATO, 75% of respondents believe the Allies would come to Lithuania’s defence in case of aggression, 89% of responds support Allied military presence on Lithuania’s territory. 75% of respondents also support sending Lithuanian military personnel to multinational operations in NATO Allies request to.
The poll responds saw Germany, U.S. and Poland as Lithuania’s closest Allies.
85% of respondents are in favor of stationing the German Brigade in Lithuania, the same percentage agree that Allied presence in Lithuania deters hostile military actions.
Poll respondents also support the possibility of sending Lithuanian military instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian troops if asked to. This is viewed favorably by 67% of respondents, while Lithuania’s military assistance to Ukraine is supported by 71% of respondents.
The people of Lithuania are well aware of and have a realistic view about the challenged posed by hybrid, cyber and information threats.
76% of respondents think that Russia poses hybrid threats to Lithuania, 78% of respondents agree that Russia intentionally exerts information influence on Lithuanian residents to manipulate the views and opinions.
71% of respondents claim they are able to recognize information attacks and misinformation, 51% say they can handle a cybersecurity incident, and 56% state they check security of a website before providing personnel data on it.
66% of respondents also approve of a universal conscription to the Initial Mandatory Military Service and become more and more accepting of youth conscription right after school graduation. 73% of respondents think that the Initial Mandatory Military Service is useful and gives helpful skills and information.
The public opinion poll was carried out by Spinter Research at the request of the Ministry of National Defence among 18-75 years old citizens in December 2024.
