The Lithuanian government fears the Baltic states will be Russia’s logical next target because the Kremlin has gone over a cliff in transforming the country’s economy into a war machine.Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Robertas Kaunas told reporters during a press conference at his ministry’s headquarters in Vilnius that the “Russian economy is now built on war,” and he worries his own country is next on the chopping block after the conflict in Ukraine is normalized.“They will continue to build weapons, but after the war in Ukraine — where will those weapons go?” Kaunas warned. “It’s very concerning because Russia can at least try to start a new war, and this new war can be with the Baltic states.”
Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Robertas Kaunas speaks to reporters in Vilnius. (Timothy Nerozzi/Washington Examiner)
“From Russia, we’re facing incursion into our airspace with jets [and] cyberattacks,” the defense minister said. “It’s not a hypothetical threat.”
This is not a new concern — experts and think tanks, such as the Center for European Policy Analysis, have for years warned that “the Kremlin’s war machine will not stop in Ukraine” and that the next target is “probably in the Baltic states.” But repeated violations of European sovereignty and this week’s drone detonation on a Romanian apartment building are starting to make the threat feel palpably real and immediate.
