Lithuania is publishing a manual to advise its citizens on how to survive a war on its soil as concerns grow that Russia’s intervention in Ukraine heralds increased assertiveness in its tiny Baltic neighbors.
“Keep a sound mind, don’t panic and don’t lose clear thinking,” the manual says. “Gunshots just outside your window are not the end of the world.”
The manual, which the Lithuanian defense ministry is to send to libraries next week and distribute at army events, says Lithuanians should resist foreign occupation with demonstrations and strikes, “or at least doing your job worse than usual.”
In the event of an invasion, the manual says Lithuanians should organize themselves through Twitter and Facebook and attempt cyberattacks against the enemy.
Lithuania spent much of the last century incorporated in the Soviet Union, along with Latvia and Estonia, and upon independence in 1991 quickly sought to join NATO and the EU.
It is increasingly worried about Russia, not least because of a military drill in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad last month that featured 9,000 soldiers and more than 55 naval vessels.
“The examples of Georgia and Ukraine, which both lost a part of their territory, show us that we cannot rule out a similar kind of situation here, and that we should be ready,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Juozas Olekas said.
The Lithuanian army and its paramilitary reserve force have seen increased recruitment since the crisis in Ukraine.
“When Russia started its aggression in Ukraine, here in Lithuania our citizens understood that our neighbor is not friendly,” Olekas added.
The government is also considering requiring all future buildings to incorporate a bomb shelter on the premises.
Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine last year, and Western governments say they have ample evidence that it is supplying troops and weaponry to pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.
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