Baltic States Prepare to Evacuate Hundreds of Thousands

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are actively developing large-scale action plans in case of a possible military attack by Russia, with the aim of ensuring the safe evacuation of hundreds of thousands of civilians. This is reported by the Reuters agency, emphasizing that these steps follow an agreement reached between the three countries in May of this year on cooperation in the field of civil defense.

The scale of the plans being developed is impressive. Renatas Požėla, the head of Lithuania's Fire and Rescue Department, who is directly involved in the development of the measures, has stated that about 400,000 people could be evacuated. This is approximately half of the citizens living within a 40 km radius of the borders with Russia and Belarus.

Estonia, for its part, is preparing plans to move about 140,000 people (one-tenth of the country's 1.4 million population) to temporary shelters, as reported by Ivar Mai, an adviser on evacuation issues at the Rescue Board. The situation in Latvia is also serious: according to estimates by Ivars Nakurts, deputy chief of the State Fire and Rescue Service, one-third of the 1.9 million population could leave their homes.

These large-scale preparatory works are taking place against the backdrop of contradictory statements from the Kremlin. Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously stated that Moscow has "no reason, no interest" in fighting NATO countries. However, last week his rhetoric changed. He noted that "all NATO countries are at war with Russia" and warned that those who wish to "compete" with Russia will receive a counter-strike.