Lithuania Strengthens Border With Kaliningrad Region After Incident On Latvia-Belarus Border And Reports Of Mobilization In Russia

Reform.news Editorial Team · 7 October 2026, 23:07

https://reform.news/en/lithuania-strengthens-border-with-kaliningrad-region-after-incident-on-latvia-belarus-border-and-reports-of-mobilization-in-russia/

Lithuania will deploy up to 100 military personnel in the coming weeks to strengthen security along its border with Russia’s Kaliningrad region, LRT reports. The decision was made by Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas following a request from Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas.

“In response to the Interior Minister’s request to take measures to strengthen the protection of the state border with the Kaliningrad region, I have authorized the deployment of Lithuanian military personnel to strengthen border security over the coming weeks. The order takes effect immediately.

Security measures are being strengthened as a preventive measure, taking into account signals of a possible increase in the number of aggressively minded foreign nationals in connection with possible mobilization in the Russian Federation. We remain calm and must remain calm, while also remaining vigilant,” the minister wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

According to him, the military will assist border guards until Oct. 16 by increasing patrols in the border area.

“I instructed the military and the Defense Staff to allocate the necessary forces and strengthen border patrols in the Kaliningrad area; up to 100 military personnel are planned to be deployed to ensure the security of our border. The deployment is planned for two weeks, until Oct. 16. There is a physical barrier — a fence — on the border with Belarus, so security there is ensured by other means, whereas there are no physical barriers on the border with the Kaliningrad region,” Kaunas said.

Katelynas called the decision “a preventive measure.” According to him, the authorities took into account the overall security situation in the region, the recent incident on the Latvia-Belarus border, as well as signals of possible mobilization in Russia.

“This is a preventive measure that takes into account a number of factors: yesterday’s incident near the border with Latvia and, at the same time, information from open sources about possible mobilization in Russia, during which people who do not want to be drafted may attempt to cross the border illegally,” he said on LRT.

Katelynas stressed that the situation on Lithuania’s borders is currently calm.

Lithuania’s decision followed an incident on the Latvia-Belarus border. The Latvian army, it will be recalled, reported a provocation on the Belarus-Latvia border this week. Armed masked men drove a group of at least 20 migrants toward the Latvian border and threatened Latvian military personnel.

The attempted border crossing was thwarted, but several hours later masked men entered Latvian territory, damaged a distribution cabinet, stole cameras and fled to Belarus before Latvian border guards arrived.