Lithuania weighs mining border with Russia, Belarus after Poland’s security changes

Lithuanian Defense Ministry says the country is considering mining its border with Belarus and Russia. This decision has been regarded as a security measure after Poland announced the same plans under the Eastern Shield project.

According to Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė, the plan to enhance border security was discussed during bilateral visits with the defense ministers of Poland and Finland.

"Lithuania remains a strong and reliable partner in transatlantic, European, and regional formats and actively promotes multilateral solutions to key defense policy issues," said Šakalienė.

She also explained that during meetings with colleagues, a discussion was initiated regarding the updating and expansion of the concept of counter-mobility—based on the Polish example, the northeastern flanking barrier could be reinforced with several layers of fortifications, including, but not limited to, anti-personnel and anti-tank mines.

She added that "regional partners intend to seek EU funding to achieve this goal."

Earlier, Lithuania expressed its willingness to consider amending the Constitution if allies decide to deploy nuclear weapons or their components in the country, Delfi reported.

According to the Lithuanian defense minister, "there are possibilities" to amend Article 137 of Lithuania's Constitution, which currently prohibits the placement of weapons of mass destruction and foreign military bases on the country's territory.

Related:

• Russia and America both want Ukraine to “choose” defeat. And we’re watching it live
• French defense minister says 15 countries are looking to give “some sort” of security guarantees to Ukraine
• Ceasefire or cûl de sac? Saudi US-Ukraine talks pose conundrum to Russia, and US too
• ISW: Russian ultranationalists and milbloggers dislike US-Ukraine’s 30-day ceasefire proposal