Lithuania is readying itself to retaliate with full force to any potential Russian attack
In the south-western corner of Lithuania, in the town of Vistytis, they know their enemy well.
On the other side of the border is the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
The area around the wire fence separating the two territories is highly sensitive, and we are told we can only film with an official escort.
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A few metres away, we can clearly see the huts and buildings that make up the Russian border post.
It’s so close that in the summer, locals say they can hear the guards on the other side singing.
The border post sits at the far end of an area known as the Suwalki Gap.
Previously referred to as “the most dangerous place on earth” and “NATO’s Achilles’ heel”, it’s a stretch of around 60 miles (96.56 km) on the borders of Lithuania and Poland.
It is also the shortest land route between Russian ally, Belarus, and Russian territory in Kaliningrad.
The concern is if President Vladimir Putin ever decided to escalate the war in Ukraine, Russian troops stationed at both ends of the Suwalki Gap could push in from the east and west simultaneously, potentially isolating Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia from the rest of NATO.
“The Suwalki Gap is a potential vulnerability as Kaliningrad and Belarus – now basically a military extension of Russia – could try to cut the Baltic States off from Poland,” underlines Linas Kojala, director of the Eastern Europe Studies Centre.
‘If Ukraine falls – we have a big problem’
Despite this, there’s no sign of panic in Vistytis; but for some residents, there is also no forgetting that Russia houses troops and reportedly nuclear weapons next door in Kaliningrad.
“We hear helicopters, maybe the tanks shooting,” says former military medic, Vilius Kociubaitis, who is now the town’s doctor.
He knows people who are nervous and tells us some have even packed their cars ready to flee to Poland, with its large military, if Lithuania is threatened in the future.
“We are afraid because if Ukraine falls, we have a big problem because the Russians will come to us from Kaliningrad and also from Belarus,” Vilius explains. “It’s a big risk.”
It’s a fear compounded by an announcement earlier this month by Belarus that around 9,000 Russian troops will be posted there as part of a “regional grouping” of forces, which it claims are needed to help protect its borders.
Lithuania is a NATO member, so it has the protection of the alliance, but the war in Ukraine has put people on edge.
Vilius Kociubaitis
More than 8,000 volunteer militias signed up
Volunteer militias have seen a surge in applicants willing to defend their country.
The Riflemen’s Union told us membership has risen from around 5,400 people at the start of the year to more than 8,000 now.
Others have joined the foreign legion in Ukraine.
Mindaugas Lietuvninkas spent the spring fighting the Russians around Irpin and is now in training for a return stint.
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He remembers what it was like to live under Soviet rule when Lithuania was occupied – never again, he vows.
“They [the Russians] want to come back, but they will not come back, at least I will be one of those who will not let them come here,” he tells me.
At the eastern end of the Suwalki Gap we visit another potential danger zone.
The growing number of Russian troops currently stationed over the barbed wire in Belarus could quickly cross the border if Mr Putin ever decided to attack.
Mindaugas Lietuvninkas
‘We must be prepared all the time’
Lithuania’s government admits the “Suwalki Gap is a critical point” and while there’s no imminent threat of invasion, the risk remains.
“We must be prepared all the time,” said Vaidotas Urbelis, political director of the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence.
“In the short term, I would say the risk and the Russian capabilities are lower, but the risk of escalation is higher and that’s why we have to prepare every moment for something to happen.
Vaidotas Urbelis
“We saw some concentration of Russian forces around us before the conflict.
“Now it’s less because everyone went to Ukraine… but even though the number of personnel decreased around us, most of the equipment is still here and the force needed is still here.”
Lithuania insists its military is prepared for potential Russian aggression.
NATO allies have also sent reinforcements and this month carried out one of the largest international military exercises in Lithuania involving around 3,500 troops.
For now, the country remains poised: watching its borders and strengthening its defences, readying itself to retaliate with full force to any potential attack.
Special event at the Imperial War Museum examining the conflict in Ukraine
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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