Instead of thinking matters through, and going back to the drawing boards on their suicidal policy of military confrontation with Russia, NATO states in the Baltic and Nordic seas are responding to Russia’s surprise deployment of the Oreshnik missile system on Nov. 21 with what can only be described as clinical hysteria.
Following in the footsteps of Defense Minister Boris Pistorius’s repeated insistence that Germany must be “war ready” by 2029, the Baltic states and their neighbors to the northwest are expecting a Russian invasion in the near future and are trying to prepare for it. Lithuania is stocking up on anti-tank obstacles, Finland wants to talk about land mines, and the Nordic defense ministers are worried about military transport corridors.
LRT reported yesterday on the manufacturing of “counter-mobility measures” like mines, razor wire, anti-tank hedgehogs, dragon’s teeth and other barriers that would be used to fortify the border areas and cities in case of a “military crisis.”
“We use 12 to 15 tons of metal a day,” said Donatas Jankauskas, the CEO of Gelmesta, a manufacturing firm. “We can produce 60 dragon teeth per shift. We are currently planning an upgrade—if there is a bigger order, which is in the pipeline, we might produce around 150-180 pieces a day.” LRT notes that the city of Vilnius is spending around 1.2 million euros on barriers.
Following a meeting in the Nordic defense cooperation (NORDEFCO), the involved countries announced their commitment to establish military corridors for smooth cross-border transportation of troops and equipment, The Barents Observer reported on Nov. 21. Joint plans, procedures and systems on information exchange are to be developed, a Letter of Intent states. A joint working group is to prepare the groundwork for cooperation. “The development of military transport corridors will strengthen NATO’s defense and deterrence. It is important for Norway’s security,” Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said in a comment.
