Lithuania to build a fence along the border with Russia
Lithuania decided to build a fence on the border with the Kaliningrad region in 2017. Until recently, only special signs and a 13-meter control zone indicated the border between Russia and Lithuania, Delfi reported, referring to Lietuvos žinios as a source.
The fence with total value of 3.6 million Euros would be constructed on the 135-kilometer area from Vištytis to Neman. Modern surveillance will be installed near the fence. The funds for this system are planned to be found in 2017.
The fence should reduce the scale of smuggling and flows of illegal immigrants. In addition, the Minister of Interior of Lithuania, Eimutis Misiūnas, recalled the recent situation when Russian servicemen entered the territory of Estonia, abducted an Estonian police officer and then accused him of illegal border crossing. That is why, according to Misiūnas, it is important to prevent such incidents.
“The fence is a sign that we consider the neighboring state as an aggressor,” Misiūnas noted. Lithuania built a fence only on the border with Belarus until now. The fence there is built along a 100-kilometer area; taking into account that the common border with Belarus makes 600 kilometers. Latvia and Estonia plan to build the same fence on the border with Russia. Ukraine has also tried to build the fence but this project has failed.