The German Bundeswehr brigade stationed in Lithuania faces multifaceted hybrid warfare pressure from Russia, including mysterious phone call surveillance where soldiers hear recordings of their own conversations, and drone spying on sensitive defense systems and exercises. In October 2025, two Russian fighter jets briefly violated Lithuanian airspace for about 18 seconds before being escorted out by NATO jets, causing German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to condemn it as a provocation. The jets reportedly launched from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. The Bundeswehr is also supporting Lithuanian airspace surveillance with a mobile air force command post deployed from January to March 2026. Such hybrid tactics extend beyond conventional attacks and blur legal definitions about responses. Russian border guards previously crossed into Estonian territory without authorization in December 2025, and armed, unmarked men have been seen near Estonian borders, eliciting diplomatic but restrained reactions. Federal Defence Minister Boris Pistorius emphasized the acute threat for Lithuania and the Baltic region. Airspace over the Baltic is heightened in sensitivity due to close Russian borders. NATO allies Germany, Spain, and the UK police Baltic airspace, as the Baltic states lack their own fighter jets. Expert analysis underscores these hybrid actions as psychological pressure to unsettle and intimidate NATO forces without triggering overt conflict.
Category: Military & Paramilitary Operations
Subcategory: Conventional Military Pressure
Incident Type: Airspace violations
Country: Lithuania
Source report: www.euronews.com/2026/02/0…
