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Ukraine must drive Putin out – or Mad Vlad could invade Baltic states next as they stand ready to ‘fight to last man’
"WE are ready to fight Russia until the last man," a Lithuanian soldier from the Iron Wolf infantry battalion tells The Sun Online.
Vladimir Putin's war has a long shadow over the Baltic states - and many people fear if Russia isn't stopped in Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia could be next for Vlad.
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Lithuanian troops and armoured vehicles were on exercise in the bone-chilling cold of the frozen forests of the Pabrade training area.
Our reporter was embedded with them as they carried out the war games drills just 10 miles from Belarus - Russia's closest ally and a nation that is essentially a puppet state for Vlad.
There is a danger of feeling removed from the war in the UK, but for the people of the Baltics the conflict is essentially knocking at their front door.
Troops hunkered down in foxholes and crawled along the snow-covered ground as they prepared for the possibility they could one day have to fight to defend their homes.
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Iron Wolf's soldiers wield German-made G-36 assault rifles and carrying US-made Javelin rocket launchers on their backs as they take part in anti-tank exercises.
One year ago - Putin's tanks rolled into Ukraine in a move that shook the world to its foundations.
Lithuania wants to make sure this can't happen to them.
Deluded dictator Putin has been unashamed about his ambition for a "New Soviet Union" .
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Since the three Baltic states broke away from Russia they have been pivoting to closer and closer to the West amid the threat posed by Vlad - with all three joining Nato in 2004.
The conflict feels far too close to home in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
Ukrainian flags flutter from a number of municipal builders, the blue and yellow flying proudly alongside the yellow, green, and red tricolour of Lithuania.
This small city of just over 600,000 people is at the heart of the resistance to Putin's war machine.
And they fear their country will be next if Ukraine falls.
The city is just 18 miles from the Belarussian border, where Russian troops have previously staged war games.
[Putin's] order is one based on strength, military power, intimidation. These are the new dividing lines in Europe
Vaidotas Urbelis
Locals tell us tourism is still well down on pre-Covid figures, thanks to the proximity of the war.
A number of Russian dissidents since last year have moved to Vilnius, which, along with Latvia's capital Riga, have become unofficial hubs of anti-Putin resistance.
Hints of the war are on every street corner.
The street that the Russian Embassy lies on, in Vilnius' upscale Zverynas neighbourhood, has been renamed "Ukrainian Heroes".
Outside, in view of the entrance, a number of posters depicting Russian war crimes alongside pictures of Europe during the Second World War are displayed.
On the top of one of Vilnius' growing number of modern high rises which have sprung up in recent years, a giant banner has been attached.
With a Ukrainian flag underneath, its message is unequivocal: "Putin, the Hague is waiting for you."
A Russian tank, one of the hundreds destroyed in Ukraine, is now being displayed in Vilnius.
At Vilnius' grand and ornate Ministry of Defence, a giant Ukraine flag hangs alongside the blue and white colours of NATO, which Lithuania joined in 2004 along with the other Baltic states.
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Inside, Lithuanian defence official Vaidotas Urbelis tells The Sun how his country's defence priorities have changed in the past year.
"The old world order was built on rules," he says. "Russia and China don't play by the rules."
On Russia, he says: "Many politicians don't understand that we must talk to Russia from a position of strength.
"They only respect power, not weakness, we can't try to persuade them, we must show strength.
"It is crazy to think we can persuade them."
He adds: "[Putin's] order is one based on strength, military power, intimidation. These are the new dividing lines in Europe."
He explains that Lithuania is set to increase military spending by hundreds of millions of euros, massively strengthening the country's army and land manoeuvre capacity.
Mr Urbelis adds that his country have "learned lessons from Ukraine".
He goes on: "We are a small country, we need everyone to be ready, not just the military, but also energy [and] comms.
"Everyone is part of defence in a small country."
He claims that Lithuania could muster 40 to 50,000 soldiers at a moment's notice, not bad for a country of just 2.8 million people.
Combined, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, could put together around 100,000 within 24 hours.
He went on: "As a frontline state, we must be ready at any time to fight against invasion.
"Only one country has such plans and intentions. Russia. We don't consider Belarus an independent state."
He also compared Zelensky to Churchill.
"Putin is capable of nasty things," he says. "We will see in the future how nasty he gets. What matters is our response."
He adds: "Ukraine decides when this war ends. All war criminals must be held accountable."
And this is the start of a major change in not just Lithuania, but in the entire Baltic.
In five years' time, he says, Lithuania's military will be better trained and with far superior technology.
The country is buying Switchblade 600 drones, along with more long-range artillery and HIMARS systems.
And in the Lithuanian military base near Pabrade, troops are preparing for that future.
In the snow-covered forests, troops with German-made G-36 assault rifles take part in anti-tank exercises.
The same is true in Estonia as well.
At Tapa Army Base, two Estonian conscripts talk us through the exercises they are carrying out alongside their British and other NATO counterparts.
Estonian troops are using the K9 Thunder, a self-propelled South Korean-made howitzer, one of the most popular of its kind in the world.
One Estonian private, just 19 years old, told The Sun: "This is an opportunity to give back to my home country, and if the time comes, defend it."
He went on: "It is important to always be ready, and want to preserve your home country and language. The war feels more real."
The soldier admits that Estonia is "a small country," but one that has "defended itself very successfully in the past".
He goes on: "We've been occupied in the past by Germany, Russia, Poland, you name it. We need the capabilities to defend ourselves."
An Estonian sergeant, also just 19 years old, signed up as soon as he finished high school.
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"Estonia has to be more aware of the threats it faces," he says. "It made the training seem more real.
"In a small country like Estonia, it's important."
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