Lithuania's defense ministry is advising its citizens how to react in case of war, reflecting jitters over neighboring Russia's intervention in Ukraine and a recent increase of reported airspace violations in the Baltic region.
The 98-page booklet, entitled "How to act in extreme situations or instances of war," is to be distributed next week in Lithuania, a NATO member that was under Moscow's rule from 1940 until 1991.
Defense Minister Juozas Olekas has told Lithuanian radio such advice were "more urgent than ever" because of what he called "Russia's aggression against its neighbors, presently in Ukraine."
The booklet, written by military experts and already available on the ministry's web site, also gives advice on coping with natural disasters, major accidents and terrorist attacks.
Russia's increased military activity in the Baltic Sea area has prompted some officials to compare it to the Cold War. Part of Lithuania's border runs along the Russian Kaliningrad enclave, where Moscow has important military bases.
After regaining independence in 1991, Lithuania and Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia turned to the West, joining NATO and the European Union in 2004. NATO conducts air patrols over the Baltic Sea and rotates military units in and out of member countries in the region.
