VICE News

Mock Invasion by the State of Udija (Extra Scene from ‘The Russians Are Coming: Lithuania') (2x127)

: 26, 2015

Since Russia’s seizure of the Crimean peninsula and the start of conflict in eastern Ukraine in spring 2014, the small Baltic state of Lithuania has been anxiously eyeing Moscow. Some in the capital of Vilnius believe that the country might fall prey to a Ukraine-style military incursion, orchestrated by Russia. Lithuania, a former Soviet satellite, shares a border with the heavily militarized Russian exclave of Kaliningrad — which houses Russia’s Baltic fleet and has been flooded with arms and personnel in the last year. From Kaliningrad, Russia has staged military drills that reportedly involve thousands of soldiers, hundreds of military vehicles, and dozens of warships. In response, Lithuanian forces are also mobilizing. In May, VICE News followed the Lithuanian army during Operation Lightning Strike — a four-day wargames exercise.