Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius stated on September 22, 2026, that the country has developed evacuation plans in response to security threats from Russia. While the Prime Minister emphasized that Lithuania will engage in defense if attacked, he noted that the government has planned for various scenarios, including the movement of elderly citizens out of cities to avoid congestion.
These preparations occur amid a series of what Lithuanian officials describe as "hybrid attacks." On September 21, 2026, flights at Vilnius airport were disrupted by unidentified objects resembling balloons, which the airport operator attributed to Belarus. Additionally, NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace from the direction of Belarus on September 15, 2026. Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas reported that the drone had come from the direction of Belarus and carried an explosive device.
Specific evacuation routes for the capital city of Vilnius include a transit corridor leading to Poland, as well as routes moving north and west through Lithuania. Žygimantas Solovjovas, head of the Vilnius municipality’s Civil Protection Department, stated that these plans were updated approximately one year ago. The Polish region of Podlaskie is currently preparing to facilitate the movement of evacuees from the Baltic states during a potential military crisis.
Under the coordinated plan, residents would be expected to leave before an active threat begins, as city officials stated that evacuation routes would not be used during active shelling. If a person is in the city when an attack starts, the government directive changes from evacuation to taking shelter immediately. Residents in Vilnius previously experienced a shift in daily life in May 2026, when a drone alert forced citizens to take shelter and halted all rail and air travel.
The scale of the military response involves thousands of international personnel. As of December 2023, NATO had more than 5,000 troops stationed in Lithuania, including units from the U.S. and Italy. Furthermore, Germany has committed to permanently stationing a 5,000-strong combat-ready brigade in the country. While a new rotation of U.S. troops was reported to be on its way as of September 22, 2026, the German brigade is not expected to reach full operational capability until the end of 2027. The German military is currently using compulsory assignments to fill some positions for this deployment due to a lack of voluntary recruits.
These measures follow an agreement among 10 northern European nations that agreed to synchronize cross-border evacuation plans in March 2026. The German brigade will be primarily based near the Suwałki Gap, a strip of land along the Polish-Lithuanian border that separates the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad from Russia's ally, Belarus. While Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda stated the overall security situation remains unchanged, he noted that isolated provocations, sabotage, or false-flag operations remain possible.