All Lithuania's defense funds and the years of our youth's lives have been wasted: without an additional 10 billion euros it is impossible to withstand the Russian attack

 

 

It's a shame. Our defense planners need to be prosecuted and jailed for years for the grand theft of our wealth. Vaitkus is right. Another 10 billion euros you will no longer extort from us.

 

 

 "Journalist, head of the Strong Together organization, Edmundas Jakilaitis, for the first time publicly presented a study of Lithuania's defensive power. The study was conducted by the Washington-based New Generation Warfare Center, which, together with Lithuanian military experts, simulated two scenarios of a military conflict - what awaits if Russia in 2027 goes against Lithuania. The study reviewed the first 10 days of the military conflict, after which Lithuania should defend itself not alone, but together with NATO allies.

 

 

 

 Lithuania was successful in the second simulation scenario, during which almost no state territory was lost, and the losses suffered by the enemy significantly exceeded the losses of Lithuania and its allies. "Over the next four years, by allocating an additional 10 billion euros for defense, Lithuania can effectively resist the attack of the armed forces of the Russian Federation for 10 days. During those 10 days, Lithuania would essentially lose its territory, and there would be no real threat to the existence of the state. Such a 10-day period is necessary so that NATO allies can make decisions, send their allies and help the attacked Lithuania", said E. Jakilaitis at the Lithuanian Business Forum on Thursday.

 

 

 

 "After six days, the reinforced forces of the Lithuanian army stopped four Russian armies, whose capabilities have been exhausted and which would need another echelon to return to the offensive, which they do not have. Key systems included Himars, Apache helicopters, artillery, mechanized forces, tanks and anti-tank capabilities. Expenditure on munitions, in addition to those calculated later, is 4.5 billion. dollars. The cost of all technological additions is 10 billion. US dollars," he calculated.

 

 

 

 Minister of National Defense Laurynas Kasčiūnas welcomed this investigation and said that it broadcasts one important message to all of Lithuania - under certain conditions, the state is capable of defending itself against an enemy attack. "The essential point of this simulation, of this study, is that we as a state, under certain assumptions and serious solutions, can defend ourselves against potential enemies. Of course, our defense planning is related to the entire collective defense of NATO. (...) But regardless of that, a self-respecting state must project various scenarios in order to fight on its own", emphasized L. Kasčiūnas. This is obvious, because people must see and understand that Lithuania is defensible and everything is largely in our hands. This is a form of pressure on political leaders to respond to important information from the world's best experts.

 

 

 

 There is only one solution - the borrower E. Jakilaitis emphasized that this 10 bln. euros the issue of additional funds is equal to approximately 20 percent. of Lithuania's gross domestic product (GDP).

 

 

 

 Businessman and signatory of the Act of Independence, Jonas Tamulis, assured that Lithuania must borrow and significantly invest in its defense power already now. "We need a solution within 3-5 years, that's about the time we have. In other words, we cannot invest in defense only 4% for the next 20 years and have the same result - you need now, and the answer to how to make a decision now is almost the same.

 

 

 

 You need to borrow very seriously - those slightly increased taxes and other steps are in principle also suitable, only I would combine them both at the same time", explained J. Tamulis.

 

 

 

 The scenarios were formed taking into account the current military investments of Lithuania, the arrival of the German brigade in Lithuania and other factors. In the first scenario, Lithuania had developed the military capabilities it is developing now, including the German brigade. In the second scenario, Lithuania invested an additional 10 billion. euros in a period of 4 years to the development of defense capabilities. During the simulations that lasted for several days, Ben Hodges, the commander of the NATO ground forces in Europe, who was on the side of Lithuania, together with him were the US helicopter aviation and artillery ground colonels. The entire simulation was observed by representatives of the Presidency of the Republic of Lithuania and the Defense Staff. The forces of the Russian Federation side were led by the expert of the "New generation warfare" research center, Dr. Philip Petersen.

 

 

 

 E. Jakilaitis: we want people to understand - Lithuania is defensible and almost everything is in our hands. He is a head of the "Strong Together" organization. E. Jakilaitis emphasized during the presentation of the study of Lithuania's defensive power - the country's residents must know that Lithuania can defend itself by making appropriate decisions. He hopes that an understanding public will help persuade politicians to take action. "We hope that this information will reach the public first. This is obvious, because people must see and understand that Lithuania is defensible and everything is largely in our hands. This is a kind of pressure tool for political leaders - to respond to important information from the world's best experts", E. Jakilaitis told journalists on Thursday.

 

 

 

 J. Tamulis, one of the authors of the study, a signatory of the Act of Independence, assures that the decision-makers understand how important the results of this study are. According to him, the first politicians familiar with the study did not raise the question "whether it is necessary" but "how to do it". "I'm not in a bad mood about this. We first presented this project almost a month ago. We gathered three people from each of the main parties, people from the army, the ministry, the presidency, and there were even some members of the press. The meeting was private and the information never leaked to the public. This clearly shows that politicians understand what we are dealing with and how important it is," said J. Tamulis.

 

 

 

 "I didn't hear any other questions in the discussion - the amount of money was discussed, what are the best ways to get the funds." There were no other topics - the decision-makers have an idea of ​​where we are, what we are doing," he added. Businessman and one of the authors of the study, Tomas Kučinskas, singled out the role of the media in spreading the message to the public. According to him, if the news about Lithuania's ability to defend itself reaches the population, their fear of war will not be so strong. "It is very important what the role of the media will be. (...) The media must convey the message to the residents that we must do this and only then will we be calm that nothing will happen to us in Lithuania," he said."