 NATO, bringing missiles closer to Russia, Patriot anti-air missile systems will be stationed in Lithuania. NATO will station US-made Patriot anti-air missile systems in Lithuania during 2024. The Baltic country's Defence Minister has announced. Lithuania shares a border with Russia's Exclave of Kaliningrad and with Russia's ally Belarus. This year, the rotational air defence system will finally become operational, at least partially, Avidas Anusoskas said during a press conference in Vilnius as quoted by the state broadcaster LRT. Our goal is to have a rotation similar to the air policing mission, the minister added, referring to the regular patrol flights by NATO aircraft in the airspace of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. This principle would not be a one-off thing for several months, but would cover all of our calendar months and significantly increase our air defence capabilities. Anusoskas said last year the US and its allies in Europe delivered several Patriot batteries to Ukraine as part of efforts to back Kiev during its conflict with Moscow. The Washington-led bloc has deployed additional forces to Eastern Europe and the Baltic states in recent years, citing Russia's military operation in Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned last month that the Western allies must prepare for a confrontation that could last for decades. Russia for its part cited NATO's continuing expansion eastward and the bloc's cooperation with Kiev as one of the root causes of the current conflict. Russian officials have repeatedly stressed that Moscow views NATO military units near its border as a national security threat. In January, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that the stationing of additional foreign forces in Lithuania only leads to the escalation of military tensions. Russia prepares for long-term standoff in Baltic, Lithuanian military intelligence warns. Russia's military is preparing for a protracted standoff with NATO member states in the Baltic Sea region as the Kremlin expands military capability westward, Lithuania's spy agencies said. It is noted that President Vladimir Putin's military is increasingly using air, naval and nuclear forces to project Russian potential in the Baltic, according to a joint report by the Baltic nation's military and domestic intelligence agencies. The development is part of a major realignment of Russia's armed forces in its western regions. The Lithuanian military intelligence assesses that Russia will have sufficient resources to sustain its war against Ukraine at the current intensity for at least the next two years. According to Lithuanian intelligence, the aggressor country's capability is sustained by high oil prices, invasion of international sanctions and state investments. In a joint report by the counterintelligence department of the state security and military intelligence and security service of the Ministry of National Defense of Lithuania, it is noted that Russia has reformed and strengthened its army, which was severely battered during the fighting in Ukraine in 2023 and is on the path to expanding its military potential along its border with NATO countries. Moscow is able to evaluate the lessons learned and improve its combat effectiveness, the Lithuanian agencies added.