Baltics raise defenses; Israel orders hospital evacuations; Another Russian arms dump struck; New polls on Taiwan; And a bit more.

Lithuania’s military says it’s ready to blow up its bridges to Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, which is located on the Baltic coast between Poland and Lithuania.?

The Lithuanians have placed vehicle obstacles known as “dragon’s teeth” on a bridge over the Nemunas River, which leads to Kaliningrad. Those obstacles “will eventually be supplemented with iron beams, which will be sunk in and anchored,” Defense Minister Laurynas Kas?iūnas said Wednesday on Facebook with an illustrating photo. “The Lithuanian army is now testing them, evaluating how they hold back the advancing heavy equipment.”?

“Fortifications will be supported by firepower, in case it’s needed, to stop and destroy the enemy…with some bridges set to be demolished,” the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said Wednesday on social media.

Context: “Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania agreed to build a Baltic defense line in the coming years to strengthen the eastern border with Belarus and Russia, the Estonian Defense Ministry said on Jan. 19,” the Kyiv Independent reports. “Russia's war in Ukraine has shown that, in addition to equipment, ammunition and manpower, we also need physical defense facilities on the border to protect Estonia from the first meter,” Estonia’s defense minister said at the time.

Rewind: You may recall that when Defense One traveled to Denmark in 2019 to observe Danish military training, troops spent part of their time rehearsing river crossings in anticipation of a possible invasion by the Russian military.?

“Our major problem fighting in an environment like the Baltics would be bridging capacity,” one officer explained. “There are so many rivers, and they are so wide, and we only have bridges that can stretch 20 meters. And we don’t have very many bridges. And that’s as I see it our major challenge to fighting in the Baltics.”?

For what it’s worth: Most of Kaliningrad’s border with Lithuania follows either the Nemunas or ?e?up? rivers.?

Continue reading today's D Brief at: https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2024/10/the-d-brief-october-09-2024/400153/?oref=d1-featured-river-secondary