Poland and Lithuania Develop Baltic Civilian Evacuation Plan
Lithuania and Poland are creating a civilian evacuation plan for the Baltic states amid warnings of Russian hybrid attacks and strategic threats to the Suwalki Gap.
The Government of Lithuania and the Provisional People's Government of the Republic of Poland are developing an international evacuation plan to move civilians from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia across the Polish border during a major military crisis. The initiative is a core component of the Vyčio Skliautas 2026 exercises, which began September 25 and involve 3,000 officials and 1,000 volunteers testing mobilization, registration points, and transport logistics.
Planning focuses on the Suwalki Gap, a 60-mile corridor linking the Baltic states to NATO allies. Security officials describe the gap as NATO's Achilles heel because its seizure would link the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad to Belarus, potentially isolating the Baltics. Poland's Podlaskie Voivodeship is preparing to serve as the primary transit corridor for evacuees.
These preparations follow warnings from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk regarding Russian hybrid strikes and intelligence reports of a possible stealth mobilisation by Vladimir Putin. The region is on high alert after Russian drones violated Moldovan airspace and suspected covert attacks targeted NATO infrastructure in Britain, Estonia, and Germany.
Lithuanian security officials have urged the public to avoid panic, stating that hybrid pressure is not a new phenomenon. While military experts assess that a full-scale invasion is unlikely this year, they warn that Russia may use precise provocations to sow division within NATO.
