IT’S FORTRESS EUROPE: Lithuania plans £30m fence to keep Vladimir Putin’s army at bay
LITHUANIA is building an 80-mile fence along part of its border with Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave as Moscow continues to ramp up military activity in the area.
By VICKIIE OLIPHANT AND SIMON OSBORNE
Express.co.uk
Tue, Jan 17, 2017
Baltic states have repeatedly voiced their concern at the Russian army’s increased presence in the highly-militarised region which is sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.
NATO is sending troops to the area to deter Russia from making more land grabs following its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
The Kremlin denies any territorial ambitions and insists NATO is trying to encircle Russia.
But Moscow’s deployment of nuclear-capable Iskander missiles into Kaliningrad last year and frequent military drills in the Baltic region have rattled Warsaw and Vilnius and raised eyebrows among European Union and NATO defence chiefs .
On Monday, Lithuania revealed the plans to build the 135-kilometre long fence on the border to boost security.
Officials claimed the £26million construction project equipped with high-tech surveillance systems would protect the country from illegal smugglers.
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