Lithuania’s Defense Ministry: Russia is expanding the scope of blocking GPS signals in the Baltic

Russia is expanding the scope of blocking signals from the global satellite navigation system, GPS, in the Baltic.

Lithuanian Deputy Defense Minister Karolis Aleksa stated this, Delfi reports.

According to him, not only Lithuania but also the countries of the North Baltic region face this danger.

Alexa pointed out that such activities by Russia are not new – “the only question is the scale and degree of influence.”

“It seems that the scale is expanding, and therefore it is important to respond and monitor, to take preventive measures that will prevent various incidents,” he said.

The deputy defense minister attributed the increased interference with GPS signals to Lithuania’s efforts to strengthen its defense and the situation in the war against Ukraine.

“We see that (Russia) does not like what we are doing – strengthening our defense, which is what the Ukrainians are doing. Then Russia also takes certain measures, sending signals,” the deputy minister said.

The official noted that Russia will likely block the signals maliciously, seeking to cause as much damage as possible.

“It is important to distinguish whether these are routine or certain malicious (actions). Obviously, it’s closer to malicious and can really cause us a lot of damage,” Alexa added.

This week, the Lithuanian Armed Forces stated that blocking GPS signals and disrupting the control system along the Lithuanian Baltic Sea coast are leading to accidents or loss of control over drones. This is happening, in particular, in the area of the Curonian Lagoon, which is located near the Russian Kaliningrad region.

At the end of May, it was reported that Russians jamming and spoofing of GPS signals in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea posed a threat to civilian shipping, which is a cause for concern for countries in the region.

Cases of ships disappearing from radar and their AIS (Automatic Identification System) signals transmitting incorrect locations have been reported.