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Officials from Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, have announced evacuation plans that will be used in the event of an invasion of the city.
It sets out how the city’s 540,000 residents will be ordered to leave if they are approaching an overrun by enemy forces.
The publication of the program came amid growing fears about Russia’s military ambitions in the region in light of Ukraine’s continued full-scale invasion.
Lithuania, along with fellow Baltic countries in Estonia and Latvia, has long warned of the threat of Russian invasion, and has invested heavily in defense in recent years.
Vilnius is located near the 679 km (422 miles) border that Lithuania shares with Russian ally Belarus.
Belarus hosted thousands of Russian troops and was used as a stepping stone to capture the failed Ukrainian capital Kiev in February 2022.
Lithuania, a member of the NATO Military Alliance, shares the border with Kaliningrad, a massively militarized Russian exclusive in the Black Sea.
The evacuation plan, released on Wednesday, will identify 150 routes from Vilnius and allocate neighborhoods at specific evacuation points, reported LRT, Lithuanian public broadcaster.
Residents have been instructed to evacuate via SMS and siren warnings, and a dedicated app communications system is also under development.
The plan requires some roads and bridges to be expanded.
Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas emphasized that evacuation is a last resort if the city’s military defense fails.
He said he emphasized that the publication of the plan should not cause “panic” and did not imply an increase in threat.
The plan incorporates elements of how Ukraine responded to Russian invasions, particularly the way Kiev endured the early days of a full-scale invasion.
Authorities said the Vilnius program was developed primarily with invasion in mind, but could also be deployed in the case of natural disasters, nuclear attacks, or large-scale collapse of essential infrastructure.
Lithuania was previously part of the Soviet Union, which declared independence in 1990 and subsequently sought close ties with Western Europe, including participation in the European Union.
It is a supporter of the Ukrainian voice, and like its Baltic neighbour, it repeatedly warned of the threat the Kremlin expansionist ambitions pose to the region.
Belarus and Russia are scheduled to hold joint massive military training in September, and could see troops stationed near the Lithuanian border.
Military strategists have long considered the so-called suwałki gap – narrow stretches along the Lithuanian border that runs between Kaliningrad and Belarus – potential vulnerabilities in NATO’s defenses
That occupation would cut off the land route that linked Poland to Lithuania and link it to the rest of the Baltic countries.
