Special Envoy to Vilnius
The streets of the old town were closed to traffic. On a road on the outskirts, between the airport and the center, a large billboard sets the tone and warns foreign delegations: “Ukraine deserves NATO membership”. Vilnius is ready for the Atlantic Alliance summit. Tuesday and Wednesday, the thirty-two leaders (including the Swedish Prime Minister) this Tuesday and Wednesday in the Lithuanian capital, a few hundred kilometers from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and a few dozen from the Belarusian border.
Head of State Emmanuel Macron arrived on Monday evening, as did US President Joe Biden. The heads of state and government of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand have once again been invited to attend an expanded council session on Wednesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected, as his country at war with Russia awaits the opening of a path to membership. So in the streets of Vilnius and in its sky, security is at its maximum.
3000 Lithuanian soldiers were deployed to secure the event. The Lithuanian General Staff also stands close in the event of a hybrid attack: “Hostile information operations, cyber attacks and the dissemination of misleading information, the intensification of the flow of migrants from Belarus, military or aircraft maneuvers at the borders of the Republic of Lithuania, incitement to public unrest and panic through the dissemination of hoaxes on social media are highly likely,” he said.
The Allies also provided exceptional means. The Bundeswehr has deployed three Patriot anti-aircraft missile batteries. The systems were previously installed in Slovakia. Support elements were also moved from Poland. Germany is a very close ally of Lithuania since it is the “framework nation” for allied military reinforcement in the country. In the spring, Spain also installed NASAMS air defense systems in Lithuania.
France also participates in the protection of the summit. Three Rafale planes were sent to Lithuania to secure the airspace. Anti-drone means have been deployed around the summit as well as four Caesar guns. A total of 170 French soldiers from the Franco-German brigade made the trip.
