Zapad exercise in Belarus poses no additional threats to Lithuania - PM

VILNIUS - The Zapad military exercise scheduled to take place in Belarus in the fall does not pose any additional threat to Lithuania, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas says.

"As regards the Zapad exercise, information is being gathered not only by our intelligence agencies, but also by NATO's intelligence agencies, and all the conclusions are the same: the exercise, which is currently being organized, does not pose any problems or additional threats in terms of its scope and other aspects," the prime minister told reporters at the Seimas on Tuesday.

He refrained to comment on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's call during a meeting of the Bucharest Nine and Nordic leaders in Vilnius on Monday to seek information from the intelligence services on Russia's plans for Belarus this summer.

"I don't know what information the Ukrainian intelligence service or the Ukrainian president have at their disposal, but the information that we have does not pose any additional threats, so the public should not be additionally worried and stressed," Paluckas underlined.

"There's no need to be alarmed. All the information we receive from the special services is taken very seriously, but there are no additional threats that need to be known or communicated to the public," he reiterated.

Earlier in the day, Giedrimas Jeglinskas, chairman of Lithuania's parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense, said there are currently no indications that Russia or Belarus could attack NATO countries.

Jeglinskas' remarks came after Zelensky called on allies to seek intelligence on Belarus' plans regarding Zapad, a large-scale joint military exercise with Russia.

"Ask your intelligence what Russia is planning this summer in Belarus. If they are bold enough to prepare attacks from there, then we need more strength together," he said.

Held every two years since 2009, the Zapad exercise is scheduled for September.

The officially stated objectives are to practice joint defensive and offensive operations, improve cooperation between the armed forces and test troops' readiness for various security scenarios.

However, the drills always raise concerns among officials in neighboring countries about the risk of unintentional incidents.

No Zapad exercise took place in 2023.

British intelligence has cited Russia's shortage of troops and equipment, as well as the Kremlin's unwillingness to face criticism for holding yet another show of force during the war in Ukraine, as likely reasons for the cancellation.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has said that Tarassis 25 - a Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) exercise scheduled to run at the same time as Zapad - will be the largest since the multinational force was established.

This fall, the Lithuanian Armed Forces' combat units will also take part in the Thunder Strike exercise, which will include tactical maneuvers across various locations and military training areas, in line with the country's national defense plan.