Lithuanians prepare for potential Russian attack

Ready to fire! Shooting begins. It's been three years since Paulius Liškauskas is trained for the emergency situation. This emergency situation has never been this close, 39-year-old believes in a discussion with DW. I wanted to become a member of the Lithuania Union of Angels since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimea and launched the fight against Ukraine. Russian state propaganda has targeted Lithuania ever since. For us, that meant: we could be next at”.

Accompanied by Paulius Liškauskas, a dozen men and a woman approach a rifle and hunt. In a dark room on the first floor of a small building in the middle of Maryanpole's pedestrian area, a screen is hanging. We show an animation of suspected terrorists, hiding somewhere behind a building. They're the target. All of this could be a harmless computer game if it wasn't the scary real sound that screams at the loudspeakers with every shot. It's like remembering the real war that has broken out in the heart of Europe.

The only woman present in the room is Paulius Lyukkauskas' wife. Both maintain green olive uniforms of the State-backed Union of Cystats of Lithuania. Joining Lithuania's shooters is an additional kind of army. It is made up of Lithuanian and Lithuanian training regularly for the use of weapons and ready to fight in case of an emergency.

The association has a long tradition and a controversial reputation. Founded in the early 20th century to fight for Lithuania's independence, the Union of Heavens collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. After Lithuania became part of the USSR, shooters fought as Soviet partisans, some fell victim to Stalin's regime. After Lithuania's proclamation of independence in the 1990s, the association experienced a rebirth. After the war began in Ukraine, amateur shooters are very popular. Paulius Lyukkauskas is happy to be one of the 14,000 current members.

Especially because Paulius Liškauskas' family lives in a region that is considered particularly vulnerable in the event of a war against Russia -- in the so-called Suwakick. That's the name of a narrow strip of land that connects Lithuania with Poland and that “has stalled” between the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad in the northwest and Belarus, an ally of Russia, south. It's stuck because it's only 65 kilometers while the raven flies, because it's the only ground link of Baltic states with other NATO partners.

Many here fear Moscow will close this earthly bond and feel a deep antipathy for Russia. Paulius Liškaus, who works as a lawyer when removing the uniform of the Lithuanian Union. Lithuanian, however, differentiates between Russian politics and ordinary people in Russia: “I have Russian clients with whom I continue to keep in touch. I don't feel personal hatred toward them, but against their country and Russian state propaganda”

This hatred should be felt by Russians who travel by train between Moscow and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad; they then cross the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. They are certainly not allowed to get off the train, but face bloody images of war by their train windows. And with the question of whether they really want to support Russian President Putin.

Ukrainian War: Fear and Rest for Lithuania

For about 45 years, Lithuania and Russia have been part of the same state: Soviet Union. After declaring independence, Lithuania joined NATO in 2004. In recent years tensions with Russia have increased.

The war in Ukraine is a wake-up call, warns Lithuanian MP Laureynas Kasčiınas. In an interview for DW, he requires Lithuania to be more armed against possible aggression from Russia: we have only a few years to prepare. So we need a bigger presence. NATO as a safe precaution.

It is the Ukrainians who today give priority to Lithuanian people, notes politicologist Thomas Janilião of the University of Vilnius. When the war started, there were people in Lithuania who wanted to leave out of fear, he told DW. But many now see that the Russian army is weaker than previously thought, Janelis points out. Ukrainian will, meanwhile, is stronger: “Things such as the war in Ukraine are a good lesson for us. They give us time to prepare. Ukrainians give us time. We need to use this time objectively and prepare”.

For example, with shooting exercises, such as Paulius Lyukkauskas of the Lithuanian Union of Knights. He would certainly be happy to have more NATO soldiers, but in case of emergency, he would go to war with his wife: “It is difficult to talk about the future. We live in difficult times, and no one knows what tomorrow will bring. So it is important to live here and now, to take small steps, to strengthen the country with patriotism”. / DW/