Arvydas Anusauskas spoke about the threat from Russia/Collage of Channel 24
< strong _ngcontent-sc87="">Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine proved to Lithuania that it is moving in the right direction in terms of the country's defense policy. It was not in vain that Lithuania strengthened this sphere for several years in a row, because Russia threatens it in the long run.
Lithuania is working on the defense sector
< p> Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anushauskas stated this at a meeting of the Defense and Security Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly on May 29. He presented a report on how the Russian attack on Ukraine affected the defense issue in Lithuania.
He noted that since 2014, Lithuania has made significant progress in financing the defense sector. Its budget is 2% of GDP, and this year, defense spending has grown to 2.5% of the same figure. This volume is planned to be further increased.
In addition, the level of combat readiness of the Lithuanian Armed Forces has significantly increased. According to Anusauskas, if necessary, some units will be able to start operating in just a few hours. Also in Lithuania are stepping up military training and planning to increase the number of conscripts .
There are problems with supplies
However, the Minister of Defense noted that due to constant support of Ukraine in the war, Lithuania has to solve the problem of depletion of weapons . It should be noted that Lithuania really helps our state a lot in the fight against the Russian aggressor – since the beginning of a full-scale war, it provided more than 100 million euros in aid to Ukraine . We are talking mainly about the supply of lethal weapons.
“Now most allies are facing this. We must work closely with the defense industry to meet all needs in a timely manner. We must do our best to be fully equipped not through 5 or 10 years, but today,” Anusauskas said.
The security situation is the worst of World War II
A very important goal of Lithuania is to increase the presence of allied forces in the country – NATO and the United States. To this end, the Ministry of Defense and the government are actively strengthening their military potential as a host country. They will be a military infrastructure and a training ground, improving what is already there. Thanks to this, Lithuania hopes to receive an additional thousand more NATO troops in the near future.
Such actions are necessary, because Lithuania is under threat from Russia. Arvydas Anusauskas called the current security situation the worst since World War II.
Ukraine is delaying Russian aggressors. But we cannot forget the lessons of history. Russia is a long-term threat to our security,” the minister stressed.
He noted that the forthcoming NATO summit in Madrid in June is a good opportunity to show that countries are ready to change and adapt to the new reality. Russia wanted to divide everyone, but Anusauskas is sure that unity will become the strongest weapon.
