The Baltic countries signed an agreement on Friday to develop joint mass evacuation plans, citing growing security concerns in the region as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his war in Ukraine.
The interior ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia pledged to streamline information-sharing, establish evacuation protocols, and prioritize vulnerable populations in emergencies. The agreement includes exchanging data on evacuation capacities, potential corridors, and border crossing statuses.
“Clear procedures and rapid information exchange are crucial to implementing effective measures and preventing panic before and during a crisis,” said Lithuanian Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė in a statement. “A unified approach among the Baltic states is essential to ensuring public safety—especially in large-scale evacuations.”
The agreement comes ahead of Zapad 2025, a joint Russia-Belarus military exercise scheduled for September. Western officials have expressed unease over the drills, with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya warning they could signal further aggression, noting that similar exercises preceded Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The Baltic pact follows a late-May declaration by eight EU nations—Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Sweden—urging stronger civil protection measures at national and EU levels. The ministers emphasized that security depends not only on military readiness but also on crisis preparedness, from natural disasters to hybrid threats.
Under the new agreement, the Baltic states will enhance cross-border evacuation planning, including tools to assist vulnerable groups. Estonia has already conducted multiple evacuation drills since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We must ensure coordinated public communication to avoid impulsive behavior during crises,” Bilotaitė added. The move reflects broader efforts among EU partners to bolster resilience amid escalating regional instability.