Lithuanian MND outlines plan for three-layer defensive line against Russia

The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence (MND) published new schematics on 14 August 2025 for a new three-layer defensive line along its border with Russia.

“Lithuania is shifting from individual counter-mobility measures to a unified three-echelon defence line – giving greater depth, stronger control and full NATO/EU integration at our frontier,” the MoD stated.

According to the schematics, the first echelon, which will be 5 km deep, will feature an anti-tank ditch behind the border fence, behind which will be ‘Dragon’s Teeth’ anti-tank obstacles, minefields, fortified strongholds with trenches and then secondary positions with trenches.

The second echelon, out to 20 km from the border, will feature drainage ditches, engineering equipment parks, bridges over rivers prepared for demolition, blocked bridgeheads and fortified strongpoints with trenches.

The third echelon, reaching to 50 km beyond the Russian border, will feature roadside trees prepared for felling, more bridges prepared for demolition and blocked bridgeheads and more engineering equipment parks.

Meanwhile, the Lithuanian MND announced on 6 August 2025 that it has dedicated EUR 30 million for further developing Reception, Staging and Onward Movement (RSOM) infrastructure at Kazlų Rūda over the period until 2030 to ensure host nation support to NATO troops deployed in Lithuania.

Additionally, on 1 August 2025 the Lithuanian MND announced that it is dedicating EUR 1.1 billion over the next decade to strengthen its “counter-mobility arsenal”, which would include mines and other defensive systems, in co-ordination with the other Baltic nations and Poland.

“We want to demonstrate that the East Shield and the Baltic Defence Line are actually one project to all of us. The Polish and Lithuanian borders are not just our but also [the] EU and NATO border. The whole EU needs to recognise that and commit investment from EU programmes,” Polish Vice Minister of National Defence Cezary Tomczyk said of the plans.

In December 2024 the Lithuanian MND also ordered 44 examples of the Leopard 2A8 main battle tank: the latest Leopard 2 variant, which will feature the Rafael Trophy active protection system.

The Lithuanian MND has also placed multiple orders for Rafael Spike anti-tank missiles in recent years, which are being integrated with Lithuania’s Boxer infantry fighting vehicle variants, known as Vilkas in Lithuanian service.

Lithuania’s border defence plans are being co-ordinated with fellow Baltic states Estonia and Latvia to present a continuous defensive line against any potential Russian aggression, which for Lithuania also means defending its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

While the border defences are not expected to stop a Russian invasion in its tracks, they are intended to slow down any Russian armoured columns and force them into certain channels, making them easier to target and defend against.

The overall calculation from a Baltic point of view is that, if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is somehow allowed to prevail, the Baltic nations – which were consumed by the Soviet Union after the Second World War until September 1991 – would be next.