Lithuanian residents are increasingly more confident about the national armed forces and military career, the number of citizens pro the universal conscription is also going up. While the support to Lithuania’s NATO membership and Ukraine’s membership prospects is especially high. The trends have been revealed in a public opinion poll carried out last December by request of the Ministry of National Defence.
Strong public mandate
According to the poll findings, 80 percent of residents of Lithuania have confidence in the Lithuanian Armed Forces this year. This is the highest rate of trust the polls requested by Ministry of National Defence have ever shown.
As compared to the year before, the trust in the Lithuanian Armed Forces has gone up by 2 percent making it an increase by 10 percent over the past five years.
“A particularly sizeable portion of Lithuanian residents trust the Lithuanian Armed Forces and a strong public mandate is critical. Trust of the people give troops motivation, courage and resolve,” says Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas.
Appreciation of a military career has grown this year as well: 89 percent of respondents view it favorably, which is growth by 3 percent.
42 percent of respondents view military career “particularly favorably”. Only 25 percent of respondents indicated that position last year.
63 percent of the Lithuanian residents would support a decision of someone important to them if they chose to volunteer for the Continuous Mandatory Initial Military Service.
Exactly the same percentage, 63%, of respondents agree to introduction of a universal draft to the Mandatory Initial Military Service right after school graduation. The result has increase by 6% points since last year.
The Ministry of National Defence has proposed an amendment to the Law on Military Conscription in order to ensure a consistent increase in Continuous Mandatory Initial Military Service conscript number. The changes likely to come into forces as of next year will ensure more appeal of the Mandatory Military Service and bigger numbers of trained junior leaders and specialist officers that the Lithuanian Armed Forces lacks. It is also aimed to attract more youth to military career after the Continuous Mandatory Initial Military Service and increase the active reserve. It will lay the foundation for transitioning to the universal draft.
Over a half of respondents would joint resistance against invasion
The poll data shows that 61% of Lithuanian residents would take part in peaceful resistance, while 56% would have the resolve to join armed resistance. The latter number has gone up by 3% since last year.
33 percent of respondents think they get enough information about the opportunities to joint civil resistance, 34% say they are informed of what they would have to do in case of mobilization. It should be noted that the poll also included persons outside the mobilization age group.
2% more of Lithuanian residents said they could feel the information influence of Russia since the 76% last year. 4% more than the 64% in 2022 say they can recognize information attacks and misinformation.
39 % of respondents say they would know how to act in case of a cyber-incident. 79% say they check if a website is safe before entering personal data.
73 % of respondents say they support the current of higher level of defence spending. It is more than last year by 5%.
Staunch support to NATO membership and assistance to Ukraine
For the third year in a row Lithuania’s NATO membership is supported by 89% of respondents. 79% think that Lithuania’s NATO membership deters Russia’s potential military aggression against Lithuania. 91% of respondents support military presence of NATO Allies in Lithuania.
85% of respondents agree that the permanent stationing of a German Brigade in Lithuania will improve the security of our country. 84 % of respondents agree that ANTO Allies deployed on the territory of Lithuania deter military aggression.
The poll respondents pointed out Germany, Poland and the United States as Lithuania’s key strategic partners in defence.
81% of respondents think Lithuania should offer military assistance to other NATO Allies if they were under military aggression, 76% support Lithuania’s military assistance to Ukraine.
The impressive 86% support Ukraine’s aspiration to become a member of NATO. Only 8% of the Lithuanian residents are against it.
The public opinion poll was carried out by the market and public opinion research company Spinter Research by request of the Ministry of National Defence on 15-23 December 2023.
Photo credit: MoD / A. Čemerka
