2024-04-13 03:07:52
“The period from May 1 will be announced. (…) until August 31 to register at the military recruiting services, of which there are 27 throughout Lithuania, in order to create a reserve of joining (residents – ELTA) who will want to contribute with a weapon or otherwise to the territorial self-defense teams in their places of residence”, said L. Kasčiūnas at the press conference held on Friday.
According to the minister, the military training of residents who joined the military commandant offices should begin on October 1.
“One soldier is allocated (ELTA) 12 thousand. euros. If we gather 10-15 thousand citizens’ backs, we can multiply this and we will see that it will still require more than 200 million. euros”, he also noted.
The minister emphasized that the command posts will be significant in the fight against subversive groups, protecting objects, carrying out evacuation, etc.
Amendments to the Law on Martial Law, which regulate the activities of military commandants, are currently being considered in the Seimas, and the ministry proposes to create them during peacetime. According to the minister, the draft amendments are going to be registered as early as next week.
6 major and 21 minor commanderies will be established
In turn, the commander of the Lithuanian army, Valdemaras Rupšys, informed that 6 large and 21 smaller candidacies will be established in the country.
“We will establish 6 district commandant’s offices – large commandant’s offices – which will be in our major cities, including the capital, and we will establish another 21 in individual districts,” V. Rupšys informed during the press conference.
“This is the first stage, then we will see if it is necessary to expand or reorganize somehow. But the fact is that we should have representatives of the curfew service in practically every municipality to ensure interaction with the self-government, with the district city administration, with governmental and non-governmental organizations operating there,” he emphasized.
According to V. Rupšios, Lithuania already has the necessary infrastructure for the training of persons operating in command posts.
According to the commander of the army, it is planned that the headquarters should reach full operational capacity in 2025.
“The decision will still have to be tested in time, but the very principle is that we must prepare for war, or in peacetime we had those tools and those structures, where the easiest way would be to switch to a wartime regime, to wartime military structures. Commandant’s offices would be one of the components of that,” explained V. Rupšys.
Several thousand citizens are expected to be involved
According to the commander of the army, it is planned to include about 10.6 thousand people in the structure of commandant offices. trained reserve soldier.
“We foresee 10.6 thousand in the structure of commandants. trained reserve soldier. The draft reserve soldier will have an obligation to come and serve. He will fulfill his constitutional obligation”, said V. Rupšys.
It is planned that this structure will also include about 800 national defense volunteer forces. According to the commander of the Riflemen’s Union Linos Idzelis, 2.5 thousand will be able to supplement the commandant’s offices. shooters.
The Minister of National Defense hopes that at least several thousand Lithuanian citizens over the age of 18 will join the structure voluntarily. According to L. Kasčiūnas, an agitation campaign of commandants will take place in the next few months.
“I hope that at least a few thousand Lithuanian patriots will get involved with or without a weapon,” he said.
The new Minister of National Defense, L. Kasčiūnas, when starting his work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, assured that he would solve the issue of the commandantar system within the first month.
Until now, it has been suggested that the commandant’s office should be an institution that, after the introduction of martial law, would support the commandant, provide him with suggestions, administer the turnover of human resources and ensure the execution of other tasks assigned to the military commandant by the commander of the armed forces.
The supply of the commandant’s office with premises for work and other necessary means would be ensured by the municipal administrations, and the army would provide communication and information systems, weapons and special means.
2024-04-13 03:07:52