Lithuanian president warns Russia may test NATO with border provocations

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda warned that Russia could test NATO's unity through provocations along the alliance's borders, even if it was not ready to launch a full-scale war with NATO in the near future, according to reports from 15min, Lrytas and Ukrainska Pravda.

Nausėda spoke after a meeting of Lithuania's State Defence Council. He said military planners were preparing for different types of hybrid operations, including actions near borders and attacks on infrastructure.

The president cited a recent incident along the Latvia–Belarus border as an example of the kind of pressure he feared could recur. His remarks were a warning about possible future incidents, not confirmation that Russian forces had crossed Lithuania's border.

He said the country was watching for hostile activity that might involve energy installations or other critical services and for actions intended to expose gaps in the responses of NATO members.

Nausėda also said he did not expect Moscow to be capable of a full-scale offensive against NATO within the following two years. That was his assessment of military readiness, not an independently verified timetable for Russian intentions.

The Lithuanian government did not announce a new mobilisation or immediate evacuation order in the source material. The statements concerned planning and deterrence in a Baltic security environment shaped by Russia's war against Ukraine.