Poland has declined Lithuania’s proposal to jointly develop a military training area along their shared border, Lithuanian media reported.
The planned site is located in the Suwałki Corridor, a strategically sensitive area between Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave that Lithuania considers critical for national and allied defense.
The facility is intended to support training activities and strengthen regional readiness.
Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Bejda said Warsaw has no interest in extending the training area onto Polish territory and is instead focused on ensuring the site remains at a sufficient distance from the border.
Concerns from residents in nearby Polish regions have also contributed to this position.
The decision has drawn criticism within Lithuania, where opposition figures argue it reflects poor coordination with allies.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas said Vilnius has agreed that the new training facility will be located at least 500 meters (about 1,640 feet) from the Polish border.
“The Suwalki Corridor is a critical place in the event of war, so on the Lithuanian side we must do everything possible to ensure the defensibility of the Suwalki Corridor,” explained Kaunas.
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Despite this, Lithuanian authorities say the project will proceed independently and that cooperation with Poland could continue through joint training at the site, without Polish involvement in its construction.
While the government already approved the initiative, final authorization still requires parliamentary approval.
The proposed training area would cover about 14,600 hectares (approximately 146 square kilometers) and is designed to accommodate 3,500 to 4,000 troops at a time.
Large-scale exercises are expected to be held several times a year, alongside continuous, smaller training activities.
