- Category
- Latest news
Lithuania Installs Anti-Tank Obstacles Along the Border With Russia and Belarus
- Authors
![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Lithuania has reinforced its border security by installing concrete anti-tank obstacles, known as “dragon’s teeth,” along sections of its frontier with Russia and Belarus.
According to the Lithuanian Armed Forces, the barriers were deployed by the Colonel Juozas Vitkus Engineer Battalion at several unused border crossings with Belarus, including Shumskas, Lavoriškės, Raigardas, and Latežeris, as well as at Romainiškės on the Russian border and in other selected areas.
Military officials emphasized that the measures are not linked to the Russian-Belarusian military exercise Zapad 2025. Instead, they form part of a broader long-term counter-mobility plan designed to reduce the possibility of military vehicles entering Lithuania from Belarus or Russia.
General Raimundas Vaikšnoras, Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, stated that the barriers represent the tactical stage of a larger defensive project.
“We are starting with specific obstacles at the border, but these will later be integrated into a single conceptual system,” he explained. The army added that some barriers have been positioned near active checkpoints in locations where they could be rapidly deployed if needed.
The installation is part of the wider Baltic Defense Line initiative, which also involves cooperation with Estonia and Latvia.
Lithuania has already announced plans to invest €1.1 billion in fortifying its borders with Russia and Belarus, including the deployment of anti-tank mines and other fortifications.
The Defense Ministry confirmed that further assessments will be carried out to identify additional priority areas for restricting cross-border mobility.
Earlier, Lithuania fortified the Panemunė Bridge crossing with mines and “dragon’s teeth” barriers as part of a wider plan to strengthen its borders with Russia and Belarus, according to the Ministry of Defense.
