Lithuania prepares Vilnius evacuation routes through Poland

Lithuania has updated its civil protection strategy to include detailed evacuation plans for the capital, Vilnius, in the event of a direct military threat. According to Žygimantas Solovjovas, head of the Vilnius municipality’s Civil Protection Department, one of the three primary evacuation routes would lead into Poland. The remaining routes are directed toward the north and west of Lithuania.

Authorities emphasize that evacuation must be a controlled process and should begin before an immediate threat, such as active shelling, occurs. If an attack is already underway, residents are instructed to seek shelter rather than attempt to use evacuation routes.

In response, Poland’s Podlaskie region is preparing to serve as a transit corridor for evacuees from Lithuania and other Baltic states. This coordination aims to manage the reception and onward travel of displaced persons during a crisis. The planning is particularly sensitive due to the Suwałki Gap, a 65-kilometer strip of land between the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus, which remains a high-risk area for regional security.