By Milda Seputyte | Updated on Oct 08, 2026 at 09:31 AM
Lithuania has deployed around 100 troops to its border with the Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad, bracing for a potential influx of Russians fleeing a new mobilization, Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas said.
“It is evident to everyone — including in the public sphere — that mobilization is being planned in Russia,” Kaunas told public broadcaster LRT Thursday. “We want to ensure maximum protection at the border.”
The decision reflects growing concern in the Baltic region that President Vladimir Putin may order a massive new mobilization for his war in Ukraine, stoking anxiety among ordinary Russians about being drafted into the army.
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Kaunas said Russian citizens might head to Poland or Lithuania from Kaliningrad, which is wedged between the two European Union member states on the Baltic Sea. “We must manage our security,” he said.
The troops were deployed late Wednesday for at least two weeks as “a preventive measure,” according to Kaunas. The situation at the border remains calm, Internal Affairs Minister Martynas Katelynas said.
Separately, Estonia said it was prepared to close its border if mobilization occurs, and warned its Russian-speaking residents against traveling to Russia out of concern they could be conscripted.
The Kremlin has repeatedly tamped down concerns over a call up. Putin last month called warnings of a post-election mobilization “complete nonsense” and part of a western information campaign against Russia. “People are coming forward voluntarily and signing contracts,” he said in Vladivostok.
Lithuania’s decision was also prompted by a surge in irregular migration in neighboring Latvia, where border incidents have pushed their numbers close to record levels.
A group of at least 20 irregular migrants, led by masked escorts, tried to cross the Latvian-Belarusian border earlier this week, according to Latvia’s National Armed Forces. Armed smugglers threatened soldiers, urging and pushing the migrants toward Latvia.
In a separate incident, masked individuals also entered Latvian territory, damaged an electricity distribution board and stole video cameras, but retreated to Belarus before border guards arrived.
The surge in undocumented crossings from Belarus has also prompted Poland to reinstate controls at the Lithuanian-Polish border, despite the Schengen free-travel zone.