Lithuania’s MoD presents fortifications plan, focus on mines and counter-mobility parks


Lithuania will start building permanent border fortification at two locations in September and the first counter-mobility park will be opened at the end of August, Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas has said.

“On August 22, we will invite you all to the opening of one of the counter-mobility parks, the engineering park in Pabradė, and there will be a total of 27 such parks, and they will start to be established on a weekly basis,” Kasčiūnas told a press conference at the government headquarters on Monday. According to Kasčiūnas, the national defence system sees a need for 600 million euros for the acquisition of counter-mobility equipment over a decade. Most of it will be spent on mines

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Source: LRT News


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