Lithuania strengthens Suwałki Gap, potential target for Russian onslaught on NATO

Lithuania aims to strengthen the strategically significant 65-kilometer (40 mile) corridor known as the Suwałki Gap, the corridor that connects the Baltic States with Poland and separates Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave from Belarus, said Lithuanian Deputy Defense Minister Tomas Godliauskas in an interview with Politico.

Military analysts view the Suwałki Gap as a potential target for a Russian strike in the event of a possible conflict between the Kremlin and NATO countries.

Vilnius plans to modernize and strengthen its defense in this land passage. 

“These roads [are] critical to us from a security and defense perspective. They’ve always been part of our civil-military planning as key ground routes for allied support during a crisis,” said Godliauskas.

The new security measures will include protecting against Russian attempts to jam GPS signals, upgrading 113 kilometers (70 miles) of roads, and repairing eight bridges.

In March 2024, Belarus’s self-proclaimed president, Alexander Lukashenko, threatened a possible attack on the Suwałki Gap.

Concerns about the security of the corridor have been raised by Lithuania and Poland even before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

Efforts to strengthen the area began as early as 2019, according to Politico.

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