Lithuanian Armed Forces Make New Statement About The Exercise "West-2025"
- 12.09.2025, 12:15
The likelihood of an attack on NATO countries has been assessed.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces assessed the situation against the background of the active phase of the Russian-Belarusian exercises "Zapad-2025". According to them, the probability of a direct attack on Lithuania or other NATO countries remains low, but the risk of provocations has increased significantly - first of all, border violations, drone overflights and electronic interference.
The exercise "Zapad-2025" involves about 30 thousand troops, of which up to eight thousand are concentrated in Belarus and about four thousand in Kaliningrad region. The Lithuanian side emphasizes that the purpose of these maneuvers is a demonstration of strength to the West. At the same time, since September 2, Lithuania has been holding its own large-scale exercise "Perkunas Thunder", combining a series of trainings, which will cover about 17 thousand military personnel in September-October. More than three thousand soldiers are already taking part in them. As part of these maneuvers, allied troop movements, interaction between engineering units and live firing of American attack helicopters are being practiced. In parallel, there are closed episodes for individual units. In general, the eastern flank of NATO in these weeks involved up to 40,000 troops.
Lithuanian military noted that the country has strengthened security measures. NATO fighter jets from Spain and Hungary are on combat duty, air defense units with short-range systems are deployed near the border with Belarus, more than four thousand allied military personnel are deployed in Lithuania. The long-term project of strengthening the border, which envisages blocking key roads leading from the territory of Russia and Belarus, is also continuing.
At the same time, the military emphasize that the concentration of Russian ground troops near the Lithuanian border is not recorded. Russia's main forces are still focused on the war against Ukraine, which reduces the likelihood of a direct invasion of the Baltic States. Vilnius considers local provocations to be the main threat at the moment.
"We cannot foresee the enemy's logic, so we must calmly and continuously prepare for the worst scenario. This has been the main task of the Lithuanian army since the early 1990s. Today, the level of vigilance is higher and our means to ensure it have become much better," the Lithuanian Armed Forces said.