My Life Here In The Baltic States Where Fear of Russian Invasion Exists.

My life began here in Lithuania, where I went through hardships and some serious tests, however, I believe, all of this molded me into the person that I am today. I live in the Western side of Lithuania, near Klaipeda, where we have a beautiful coastal city, with somewhat modern buildings, and access to the sea and ports.

However, one of my favorite parts is being at the sand beach at Palanga, north of Klaipeda, where summers actually feel like summers! I remember, multiple times I was sunburned, because I didn’t have sunscreen, and moments later, I realized the true importance of taking precautions before going to the beach in summer.

My life, might not been the most interesting, compared to that of other people. I did go to school, and I still dream of achieving great things in life, I still believe greater things are ahead of me and of all of us.

However, there is one big problem, an elephant in the room, if one can say. You see, life here in Lithuania is actually peaceful, we don’t have mass protests where people always get injured or discriminated against, at least, I was never part of anything like that.

And people here just want to live their lives to the fullest, because, when Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union, the people of old, actually remembered what it was like to live during the Soviet Union, and when Lithuania got its Independence in 1918, years later, people realized the true beauty of having freedoms that allowed them to build families, and seek success.

People here are worried about their safety, I remember when there was a military movement in Belarus, a country east of Lithuania, the radio here in Lithuania was talking about this, and people became anxious because people here never ever want to go back to having no freedoms and being persecuted as they were here in Lithuania during the reign of Soviet Union.

And while Russia has Vladimir Putin as a president, that said Lithuania and Baltics are part of Russia, nobody supports him here, at least, not to my knowledge.

It breaks my heart to know that people are still anxious here, because, more than likely, Lithuania would be one of the first countries that would get affected by a war between Russia and NATO.

I remember when I was younger, we constantly had air raid sirens going out, I was just a little kid, maybe 10 years old, and I thought that our enemies were attacking us and that we would lose what we had achieved. However, that was not the case, it was just a test of the sirens.

People here are somewhat comforted, because Lithuania is part of NATO, and Joe Biden did promise that NATO will defend every inch of their territory, which only further comforts me, as I live here.

I was very curious as a kid, and I always questioned my own safety here in Lithuania, and now, when I look at Ukraine, the war-torn country, it makes me extremely sad, knowing that people who struggle to make a living, have to deal with such results of the war that was launched against them.

As someone who has a friend from Ukraine, I honestly, wish him all the best and hope that he will stay safe.

If not for NATO, Lithuania would be way different. Thanks to NATO, Lithuanians can actually continue to feel the presence of safety, knowing that we will be defended and protected.

While we here don’t have huge skyscrapers, we do have love for freedom and democracy. And love what the United States did to us, by welcoming us to NATO, giving us a sense of security.

Furthermore, a Lithuanian military instructor, by the name of Andrejus Šildiajevas, said this, concerning our defense against possible threat:

In the first few weeks, no one would help us, until everyone [in NATO] gets their act together. Vilnius is 30 kilometres from the border and we will lose half the city [by the time help arrives]. Source

However, I would like to inform that Lithuanian military, despite being quite small compared to other armies, are extremely experienced soldiers, that even been in Afghanistan. However, since Vilnius, Lithuanian capital, is close to Belarus, this pose some sort of challenge, when it would come to defend it.

Over 74% of Lithuanians actually trust in Lithuanian armed forces, and according to Lithuanian military website, the numbers are always growing.