As of: March 10, 2024, 7:05 a.m
By: Mark Stoffers
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The Patriot system could soon be deployed on a rotational basis in Lithuania to serve as a deterrent against a Russian attack on NATO's eastern flank.
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Sebastian Kahnert
Concern on NATO's eastern flank about a confrontation with Russia is growing.
A new air defense model should at least provide some security.
Vilnius – There is great fear of an attack from Russia on NATO.
So big that NATO is reopening an old Soviet air base in Albania.
But further north the concern continues unabated.
The states in the Baltics in particular repeatedly warn of an escalation of tensions with Russia and Vladimir Putin.
Fear of attack from Russia: NATO countries want to station an air defense model in the Baltics
Now there is apparently a reaction to the demands of the Baltic states to strengthen European defense capacities in the region.
Apparently, the NATO countries want to implement an air defense model based in Lithuania on a rotational basis.
This would allow, among other things, missile systems such as the Patriot system to be stationed in Lithuania.
According to Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas, who spoke about the defense model at a press conference on Thursday, defense systems in his country will be operational this year.
At the NATO summit in Vilnius in the summer, the NATO countries agreed to set up a rotation system under which the allied countries would station air defense systems in the Baltic states for a certain period of time.
NATO countries fear an attack from Russia: Baltic states fear offensive
The background is primarily the fear of several European countries that Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine could ultimately lead to a larger conflict between Russia and NATO.
The military alliance has taken several steps in recent months to strengthen its defense systems along NATO's eastern border.
This also includes the major NATO exercise
Steadfast Defender
, in which more than 90,000 soldiers from all 32 member states hold an emergency exercise on the border with Russia in the spring.
Here too, Russia has already threatened consequences.
Lithuania fears that Russia is attacking NATO states in the Ukraine war.
Latvia and Estonia are also among the NATO members that have been the loudest in calling on the Western bloc to prepare for Russia's next offensive in the region.
The Estonian foreign intelligence service, for example, has stated that Russia is preparing for war against the NATO countries within the next ten years.
Escalation between Russia and NATO: Kremlin blames West for the duration of the Ukraine war
Tensions between Russia and the West have not only been palpable throughout the war in Ukraine, but have steadily escalated through saber rattling and increasingly aggressive rhetoric, especially from Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited NATO's influence over the Ukrainian government as one of the reasons his Russia was "forced" into the Ukraine war.
Putin has also said that the conflict, which has been going on for more than two years, cannot be ended unless Ukraine agrees to remain neutral.
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And while Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov ridicules leaked “plans” for a war between NATO and Russia and Putin’s confidant Medvedev sees red, especially after wine deliveries from Italy, the Kremlin repeatedly accuses the West of fueling the war in Ukraine by supplying arms to Kiev to stretch out.
The statement by French President Emmanuel Macron created further potential for escalation when he suggested that NATO could send ground troops to Ukraine.
Saber rattling between Russia and NATO: France and Poland with ground troops advance for Ukraine
Russia's reaction followed with a clear warning.
If this were to happen, NATO would be crossing a border.
While no NATO nation has hinted at such plans, Macron told reporters last month that "nothing should be ruled out" to try to "prevent Russia from winning this war."
To recently name a specific scenario for a French intervention in Ukraine.
The move to send NATO troops to Ukraine was recently supported by Poland.
What could be seen in Russia as a further provocation, so that the saber rattling on NATO's eastern flank could be fueled again, while on NATO's northern flank a war with Russia is no longer abstract.