Lithuanian president tells residents training area site chosen for strategic reasons

VILNIUS – President Gitanas Nauseda told residents of Kapciamiestis, a small town in southern Lithuania, on Thursday that the site selected for a planned military training area was chosen for its strategic importance, saying he understood local concerns.

"This is the place we call the Suwalki Corridor. It is where the borders of Poland, Lithuania and Belarus meet. This is where we will continue to carry out joint activities with our Polish partners in the future, because this is one of our priorities," he said at a meeting with the Kapciamiestis community.

Nauseda said the site's strategic importance was the decisive factor in selecting it for the new training area.

The president added that other considerations had also played a role, including the availability of state-owned land and the reduced need to expropriate private property, but stressed that these factors were secondary.

"If we had to compare them, the first argument would undoubtedly outweigh the others," he said.

Nauseda noted that Lithuania currently has nine military training areas, but only two are suitable for large-scale exercises.

"These are Pabrade and Rudninkai. Rudninkai is not yet completed. Pabrade is designated for United States battalions, while Rudninkai is intended for the incoming German brigade together with a military campus, as some of the soldiers will live there," he said.

A short video about life in Kapciamiestis was shown at the start of the meeting.

Ahead of the event, several dozen protesters gathered outside the local community center, with some chanting slogans opposing the training area.