By Andrius Sytas
KANIUKAI, Lithuania (Reuters) – NATO has turned Vilnius into a fortress defended with advanced weaponry to protect U.S. President Joe Biden and other alliance leaders who will meet next week just 32 km (20 miles) listen)) of the barbed-wire-topped Lithuanian border with Russian ally Belarus.
Sixteen NATO allies have sent a total of around 1,000 troops to protect the July 11-12 summit, which will take place just 151 km (94 miles) from Russia itself. Many also provide advanced air defense systems that the Baltic states lack.
“It would be more than irresponsible to have our skies unprotected as Biden and the leaders of 40 countries arrive,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said.
The Baltic countries of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, once ruled by Moscow but part of both NATO and the European Union since 2004, all spend more than 2% of their economy on defense , a larger share than most other NATO allies.
But for the region with a total population of around 6 million, this is not enough to support large armies, invest in their own combat aircraft or advanced air defense.
Germany has deployed 12 Patriot missile launch vehicles, used to intercept ballistic and cruise missiles or warplanes.
Spain has contributed a NASAMS air defense system, France is sending Caesar self-propelled howitzers, France, Finland and Denmark are basing military jets in Lithuania, and the UK and France are providing anti-drone capabilities.
Poland and Germany sent special operations forces reinforced by helicopters. Others send measures to deal with possible chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks.
For Nauseda, the Allied effort to provide air security at the leader’s gathering means NATO must urgently establish permanent air defenses in the Baltic states.
“We are considering what will happen after the summit ends, and we will work with allies to create a rotating force for permanent air protection,” he told reporters.
NO GRIT
In villages near the Belarusian border, residents told Reuters they felt completely safe, despite the Russian ally’s offer to house Russia’s private Wagner militia and its hosting of Russian nuclear weapons.
“Do you think Wagner or Belarus could attack Lithuania, which is in NATO? They don’t have the courage. NATO is NATO, and we feel safe because we are in NATO. NATO. Why would we be afraid of these Belarusians?” said Edvard Rynkun, 67, in Kaniukai, a village 1 km (less than a mile) from Belarus.
“If Lithuania were alone, I would feel differently,” he added. “Without NATO membership, things here could already be the same as in Ukraine,” said Elena Tarasevic, 55, a neighbor of Rynkun.
At Vilnius airport, eight German-operated Patriot missile launchers were seen standing with their nozzles pointed towards Kaliningrad in Russia. Two others pointed to Belarus. All launchers had been operational since Friday morning.
“You know where you are geographically and you know pretty well where the threat is coming from,” said Lt. Col. Steffen Lieb, Patriot deployment commander.
“Lithuania asked us for summit protection, and NATO also asked Germany for help. This is our response,” he added.
TRIPLE
Lithuania has tripled the deployment of border guards to Belarusian and Russian borders for the summer, supplemented by Latvian and Polish officers. Both countries have also sent police to help patrol Vilnius.
“We are preparing for various provocations,” Border Guard chief Rustamas Liubajevas said. He added that he feared waves of migrants at the border, or border violations, or military vehicles appearing at the border without explanation.
Thousands of Middle Eastern migrants have crossed the Belarusian border in 2021, in an effort Lithuania and the European Union have said were orchestrated by Minsk, a charge it denies. The numbers have since declined.
“The situation is really very tense, because of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. So the (border protection) was already at a very, very high level (before the summit),” Liubajevas said.
European Union border controls between Lithuania and Poland and Latvia have been reintroduced for the summit.
The mayor of Vilnius has suggested citizens go on vacation outside the city if they want to avoid disruption, as large parts of central Vilnius will be closed for the summit.
(This story has been corrected to change the year to 2004 from 2024 in paragraph 4)
(Additional reporting by Sabine Siebold and John Irish, editing by William Maclean)