Challenges posed by Russia for Lithuanian military security and their prospects

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Iššūkiai; Lietuvos karinis saugumas; Perspektyvas; Challenges; Lithuanian military security; Prospects; Rusija (Russia).

ENLooking at Russia’s behaviour following the annexation of Crimea, it becomes an unmissable scenario where the Russian regime would decide to conduct a military intervention in one or more NATO countries, hoping that Article 5 would remain merely a paper declaration and a joint response would not succeed. Without a doubt, the most likely targets of provocation would be the Baltic States (Ivanauskas et al., 2016). For Lithuania, as a neighbour of a large state that has belonged to its territorial area several times during the various historical periods, one of the most sensitive issues is ensuring the security of its independent state. In 2018, the evaluation of threats to Lithuanian military security states that there is no knowledge of Russia’s attempts to adjust military security policy in order to de-escalate and reduce tensions. On the contrary, military power continues to remain one of the main sources of pride in the state and the pillars of domestic and foreign policy (Assessment of National Security Threats, 2019). The Baltic region is one of the most active areas on Russia’s confrontational map with NATO states. In this case, challenges to Lithuania’s military security are understood as the use of conventional means, and hybrid threats as an integral part of such a conflict. This article focuses on the changes in Lithuanian military security that determine the potential of Russian military power. [Extract, p. 186]

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