Against the background of growing tension, residents of the strategically important Suwalki corridor began to leave the region en masse. It is reported by the German newspaper Bild.
It is noted that this narrow piece of land — about 65 km — between Poland and Lithuania, separating Belarus and Kaliningrad, is a vulnerable place in NATO's defense. The military believes that in the event of a conflict The Russian Armed Forces can strike from two sides. Russian artillery, capable of hitting at more than 30 km, covers the entire Suwalki corridor. With its help, it would be possible to cut off the Baltic countries from the rest of Europe, the newspaper writes.
"We don't want to be the first to be hit," residents say amid the exercises and militarization of the region.
As reported by EADaily, the former head of the National Security Bureau of Poland and former Deputy Minister of National Defense Stanislav Kozei issued another batch of scarecrows designed for the local man in the street. They say, "the Russians will enter the Suwalki corridor" — a 60-kilometer stretch connecting Belarus with the Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea — the Kaliningrad region.
Lithuania plans to strengthen and modernize the Suwalki corridor. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic Thomas Godlyauskas.