Lithuanian capital Vilnius unveils invasion evacuation plan

[ad_1] <img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/c078/live/1cea43c0-2051-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/c078/live/1cea43c0-2051-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/c078/live/1cea43c0-2051-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/c078/live/1cea43c0-2051-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/c078/live/1cea43c0-2051-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/c078/live/1cea43c0-2051-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/c078/live/1cea43c0-2051-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/c078/live/1cea43c0-2051-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="Getty Images An aerial shot of Vilnius " class="sc-4abb68ca-0 ldLcJe"/> Getty Photographs Officers in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, have unveiled an evacuation plan that might be used within the occasion of an invasion of town.

It units out how town's 540,000 residents can be ordered to depart if it had been near being overrun by enemy forces.

The plan's publication comes amid heightened fears over Russia's army ambitions within the area, in mild of the continued full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Lithuania, together with fellow Baltic states Estonia and Latvia, has lengthy warned about the specter of Russian aggression and has closely invested in defence in recent times.

Vilnius is situated near the 679-km (422 mile) border which Lithuania shares with Belarus, a staunch Russian ally.

Belarus hosts hundreds of Russian troops and was used as a springboard for the failed February 2022 try and seize the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Lithuania - a member of the Nato army alliance - additionally shares a border with Kaliningrad, a closely militarised Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea.

The evacuation plan unveiled on Wednesday identifies 150 routes out of Vilnius and assigns neighbourhoods with particular evacuation factors, Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported.

Residents can be instructed to evacuate through SMS and siren warnings, with a devoted app communication system additionally below growth.

The plan requires some roads and a bridge to be expanded as a way to enable the protected and fast circulate of individuals out of town.

Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas burdened that any evacuation can be a final resort ought to a army defence of town fail.

He stated the publication of the plan shouldn't trigger "panic" and burdened it didn't suggest an elevated menace.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/91ed/live/17674c00-2055-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.png.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/91ed/live/17674c00-2055-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.png.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/91ed/live/17674c00-2055-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.png.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/91ed/live/17674c00-2055-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.png.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/91ed/live/17674c00-2055-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.png.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/91ed/live/17674c00-2055-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.png.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/91ed/live/17674c00-2055-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.png.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/91ed/live/17674c00-2055-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.png.webp" loading="lazy" alt="A map showing Lithuania, Poland, Kaliningrad, Belarus and Russia" class="sc-4abb68ca-0 ldLcJe"/> The plan incorporates components of how Ukraine responded to Russia's invasion, particularly the methods wherein Kyiv endured the early days of full-scale invasion.

Officers stated the Vilnius plan was primarily developed with an invasion in thoughts however stated it is also deployed within the occasion of a pure catastrophe, nuclear assault or a significant collapse of important infrastructure.

Lithuania was previously a part of the Soviet Union and declared its independence in 1990, after which it sought nearer ties with Western Europe, together with becoming a member of the European Union.

It has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine and, like its Baltic neighbours, has repeatedly warned of the menace the Kremlin's expansionist ambitions may pose to the area.

Belarus and Russia are on account of maintain joint large-scale army drills in September, which may doubtlessly see troops stationed near Lithuania's border.

Army strategists have lengthy thought of the so-called Suwałki hole - a slim stretch alongside Lithuania's border, which runs between Kaliningrad and Belarus - a possible vulnerability in Nato's defences