In addition to the international exercises with allied soldiers, the national exercises “Thunderstorm” are also taking place at the moment, during which the Lithuanian army and all state institutions are training to transition from peacetime to wartime.
Major Donatas Suchockis, operations officer of the Civilian and Military Cooperation Board of the Defense Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces 15 minutes said that the part of the mentioned exercises – “Thunder Bastion 24” – will begin next week, the purpose of which will be to train military commandants and military commandants.
When and where will the curfew be imposed?
During these exercises from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Tuesday a curfew will be introduced in some parts of Vilnius and Kaunas on Wednesday morning.
“Military commandants can also be responsible for protecting certain objects, maintaining order and order in municipalities, preventing intelligence or diversionary activities. One of the instruments to implement these tasks is the military curfew,” said D.Suchockis.
According to him, to implement the curfew, the soldiers will train for the first time, this will be done together with volunteer forces, snipers, Military Police as well as police officers.
The officer emphasized that the curfew will be introduced only in certain parts of Vilnius and Kaunas, which he said he could not disclose in advance due to the success of the exercise.
“Now I can’t say that the exercise participants will maintain the rhythm of planning and obtaining information, but I want to emphasize that these will definitely not be areas of intense traffic,” said D.Suchockis.
During these exercises from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Tuesday a curfew will be introduced in some parts of Vilnius and Kaunas on Wednesday morning.
Lithuanian army photo/Military exercises
It is important for residents to know
According to him, the introduction of the curfew will aim to evaluate the interaction of different institutions – the army, military police, police, curfew units.
“As far as ordinary residents are concerned, when interacting with the Lithuanian police, vehicles can be stopped, documents checked, vehicles inspected – on the same principle as when implementing traffic police raids,” said the officer.
“The only difference is that the police officers will be accompanied by either the Riflemen’s Union or the soldiers of the National Defense Volunteer Forces with tactical equipment,” he added.
Pauliaus Peleckis / 15min photo/Night traffic police raid
According to him, there may also be checks on people moving on foot. However, the movement of the population will not be restricted during the exercise.
During the curfew in Vilnius and Kaunas, it will also be possible to see certain simulations during which certain violations and diversionary activities will be staged.
“I can’t guarantee that people will see, because it will be night (…) You might see a lot and you won’t be able to, but the possibility remains. Imitation, sound means can also be used – weapons with imitation ammunition that emit the sound of a shot, smoke curtains, light signaling means,” said D.Suchockis.
He emphasized that residents who heard gunshots may not be afraid, as this is part of an ongoing exercise.
Military exercises in the big cities of the country in Vilnius and Kaunas are not such a common phenomenon, but, according to the officer, it would not be possible to train to implement the curfew at the training grounds.
Imitation, sound means can also be used – weapons with imitation ammunition that emit the sound of a shot, smoke screens, light signaling means
What is special about curfew during wartime?
The curfew is an important instrument in the ongoing military conflict, and it is introduced in the cities of Ukraine, which is fighting against Russia.
According to D.Suchockis, the curfew is important during the war because it helps to control criminogenic, diversionary, and intelligence activities, to ensure seriousness and order in a certain territory.
The only difference between a wartime curfew and an exercise curfew is that in the former case, the movement of civilians is prohibited, except when authorized by the military commandant.
