Lithuania to contribute ships, helicopters to NATO's Baltic Sea mission – president

  • 2025-01-14
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS – Lithuania will provide ships and helicopters for NATO's enhanced patrols to protect critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, President Gitanas Nauseda said on Tuesday.

"Lithuania, as a country, is ready to provide additional capabilities to NATO's efforts, and we will dedicate our ships (stand-by ships), helicopters, and a special cooperation unit for that purpose," he said in Helsinki, which is hosting a summit of leaders from NATO countries bordering the Baltic Sea. 

Nauseda also emphasized the need for reinforced forces in the Baltic Sea as Lithuania plans to disconnect from the post-Soviet BRELL electricity grid and synchronize with the Continental European network in February. 

"Additional vigilance is needed during this period, looking six or nine months ahead, because the motivation of some adversaries or enemies to cut or damage the cables under the Baltic Sea remains high," he said. 

Nauseda called for the continuation of the policy of sanctions against the so-called shadow Russian fleet, of which only a small part is currently sanctioned.

"It's very important to continue the policy of sanctions imposed on Russia. We have already included 79 vessels in the sanctions, but, unfortunately, these are only 79 out of 600, or, according to some estimates, 1,000 shadow vessels moving around," the Lithuanian president said. 

"This shows that our sanctions are not efficient enough, and we have to strengthen our efforts to resist the pressure coming from Russia," he added. 

According to Nauseda, the three breaches of underwater infrastructure over the past few months indicate that these were not accidents but "deliberate acts by hostile countries".

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said last week that the Helsinki summit would focus on stepping up NATO's presence in the Baltic Sea and responding to the threat posed by Russia's "shadow fleet".  

The shadow fleet consists of ships that transport Russian crude oil and petroleum products embargoed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. These aging vessels, whose ownership is unclear, are often operated without proper insurance.

The Estlink 2 electricity cable and four telecom cables linking Finland and Estonia were damaged in a suspected act of sabotage in late December.  

NATO announced in December that it would bolster its military presence in the Baltic Sea in response to the underwater cable breaches. Finnish media reports say the Alliance plans to deploy up to ten ships to protect vital infrastructure.