07 May 2015

Lithuania's 'Iron Lady' Sends Message to Kremlin:
'We Will Not Allow Ourselves to be Taken Easily'

President Dalia Grybauskaite holds war games: 'We try to learn from 
the Ukrainian and Crimean situation ... we're not fearing anybody'
While others like the Czechs, Slovaks, and Hungary act like they're afraid of/corrupted by the Russians, Baltic Lithuania -with a population of just over 3M people- seem to be cut of a bit different cloth, something more akin to Polish defiance to today's nothing-but-bad-news Kremlin...

The diminutive NATO country is currently holding 'Little Green Men' war games meant to signify to the Kremlin that Lithuanians will fight
-and effectively- in response to any Russian provocation. 

Lithuania has a sizable Russian minority -forced on them in Soviet times- that could dress-up and play soldier ala Donbas... provided it's not nipped-in-the-bud (like it's gonna be).

The military exercises are meant to prepare Lithuania forces for 'rebel' attacks on infrastructure, military depots, government buildings, etc... including their new LNG terminal that allows import of foreign gas, freeing them of Kremlin/Gazprom's energy-bullying tactics.
Some 3,000 troops will be involved in this week's 'Lightning Strike' exercise, simulating a response to armed groups seizing local government buildings, weapons stockpiles and airports to form a separatist government, as happened in Crimea and other parts of Ukraine.
'The exercise will involve dealing with what can be generally called the 'little green men',' Donatas Suchockis, spokesman for Lithuanian Army's Joint Staff, told Reuters.
 It began in Klaipeda port, where "Independence", a floating liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal, arrived last year. An explosion was simulated in a gas pipeline connected to the terminal, while guards dealt with "protesters" circling it in small boats.
The high profile war games will help cement the reputation of Grybauskaite as a leading voice of opposition to Russia within the European Union and NATO since the Ukraine crisis wrecked Russia's relations with the West last year.
Looks like they prize the freedom and prosperity of the last 20+ years...