Lithuania is training civilians — including high school students — in survival, weapons handling and drone operations to prepare for a potential Russian attack. The program complements military measures such as sensor networks and reconnaissance drones under the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative, along with reinforced anti-tank obstacles and underground command posts. Officials say lessons from Ukraine’s battlefield innovations are shaping both civilian and military preparations.
Lithuania Trains Civilians — Including High School Students — To Resist Potential Russian Attack
(Dreamstime)
Lithuania is expanding civilian training — from high school students to adults — to prepare the NATO member for the possibility of a Russian attack, as Moscow’s war in neighboring Ukraine continues to heighten security concerns across Eastern Europe.
The Baltic state, home to fewer than 3 million people, has rolled out courses that teach survival techniques, basic weapons handling and drone operations while simultaneously reinforcing conventional military defenses, CBS News reported.
Citizen Training: Schools And Communities
At a Vilnius high school, pupils take military-style survival classes alongside their regular curriculum.
"Today we’re doing survival training, and later we’ll learn about weapons," said Neda, a 15-year-old ninth-grader, to CBS. She added that she expects to use first-aid skills and would try to serve as a medic if Lithuania were to face a crisis.
The program extends beyond teenagers. Adults are also participating in nationwide instruction designed to send a clear message to Moscow: any invasion would meet resistance from civilians as well as the armed forces.
Military Measures And Lessons From Ukraine
Officials say the curriculum draws on battlefield lessons from Ukraine, including teaching civilians how to operate reconnaissance drones and how to detect or disable hostile drones. Lithuania’s armed forces are also deploying sensor networks and reconnaissance drones under the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative to detect and slow any potential advance.
Traditional defenses are being reinforced as well, with anti-tank obstacles, underground command posts and other hardening measures around key infrastructure and likely defensive lines.
Regional Context
Those preparations come amid renewed Russian strikes on Kyiv after a three-day pause; CBS reported at least two people were killed in the latest strikes. The uptick in hostilities coincided with a regional visit by envoys connected to former U.S. President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who were reported to be seeking diplomatic pathways toward ending the war.
Lithuania and its Baltic NATO partners — Estonia and Latvia — say they are closely monitoring diplomatic efforts while continuing to prepare for the possibility that Russian aggression could spread to the alliance’s eastern flank.
Geography, History And Resolve
Vilnius sits less than 20 miles from Belarus, a close Russian ally that served as a staging ground for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That proximity makes Lithuania especially vigilant.
"We don’t fear you," Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas told CBS. "We understand who you are, and we don’t fear you. We are not afraid because we remember our history. We are in our home, and we will protect our home."
Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union until 1991, and that history shapes public attitudes toward security and defense policy today.
Ukraine’s resistance and rapid battlefield innovations have given Lithuania new ideas about how to integrate civilian capacity into national defense plans. The result is a blend of grassroots training and professional military preparations intended to increase resilience and deter aggression.
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