Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas met with the commander of the AFU Support Force, Major General Dmytro Gerega, to learn from Ukraine’s experience in building physical and other defensive barriers against an attack by a perceived enemy.
Kasčiūnas noted that Ukraine’s experience in the field of counter-mobility was to be applied in the plan being prepared by Vilnius to erect physical and other types of barriers, according to the press service of the Lithuanian Defence Ministry.
We agreed to establish a joint working group of Lithuanian and Ukrainian military experts to learn from Ukraine’s experience in the field of counter-mobility and apply it to the counter-mobility plan being developed in order to prepare in advance for possible enemy aggression.
Gerega noted that when planning defensive fortifications, it was important to maintain the element of surprise. Barriers must be concealed and camouflaged to prevent the adversary from locating them in advance and preparing to overcome them.
The Ukrainian minister also shared information about border fortifications that could stop tanks or other heavy equipment. Meanwhile Kasčiūnas stated that the defence ministry would need 600 million euros to purchase so-called “counter-mobility measures.”
I have calculated that we already now in our defence plans and budget, planning the whole solution from the national defence system side see the need for 600 million euros over a decade, that is 30-40 million annually. In some cases even more when it comes to mines.
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Lithuania has begun to declare a “Russian threat” and insists on the need to “strengthen” NATO’s eastern flank. The country also conducts military exercises involving alliance troops and military equipment.
However, Russia stated that it had no plans to attack NATO countries. Moscow also notes that the alliance’s provocative actions contribute to escalation in the region. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow could take “asymmetric” steps if the Ukrainian ally NATO continued to supply weapons, which would then be used to conduct strikes on Russian territories.
Fortification scandals in Ukraine
Fighting in Kharkiv region continues, as Russian troops advance along front lines, erasing the gains of the 2023 Ukrainian counter-offensive. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian media publish another video fuelling the scandal related to the construction of fortifications.
Residents of Kharkiv also showed a construction site where a huge pile of “dragon’s teeth” had been brought in for their later deployment, probably not for military purposes.
A video surfaced online featuring a man angered by the so-called “dragon’s teeth” fortifications piled in Ukraine. Previously, such fortifications were supposed to deter the Russian offensive in Kharkiv and other regions.
I have only one question. Why … they are here?
Ukraine launched about 30 criminal cases on embezzlement of funds allocated for the building of fortifications, a member of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament), Mykhailo Bondar, stated.
The authorities were trying to hastily settle the scandal over embezzled funds for the construction of fortifications in Kharkiv region. The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the State Bureau of Investigation charged the commander of the regional directorate of the South territorial defence forces, according to Ukrainian media.
