Recent disruptions to GPS signals affecting aircraft and ships near the Lithuanian seaport of Klaipėda are linked to Russia’s efforts to shield its Kaliningrad exclave from potential airstrikes, Lithuanian parliament speaker Saulius Skvernelis said on Tuesday.

Skvernelis warned that the issue will persist across the region as long as the Kremlin continues its war in Ukraine.

“This is related to the war in Ukraine. The Russians are protecting the Kaliningrad region from potential air attacks. This is not specifically intended to disrupt or harm our aircraft flying to Lithuania. It’s just that the protection zone extends beyond Kaliningrad’s borders, and the resulting interference affects our territory as well,” the speaker told an LRT TV program.

“This is all part of the war, and as long as Russia keeps fighting, we’re going to have this problem,” he added.

Thirteen EU member states have called on the European Commission to respond to interference with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) in EU countries.

In a joint letter to the Commission, the countries emphasized that GNSS interference is not a series of random incidents but rather a systematic and deliberate effort by the Russian and Belarusian regimes to destabilize regional infrastructure – particularly in the transport sector, Lithuania’s Ministry of Transport said on Tuesday.

“We can appeal to all EU countries and any institution, but it won’t help as long as Russia continues using this kind of electronic protection to shield its military sites from Ukrainian strikes,” Skvernelis said.

“We must force Russia to end the war, and then this problem will simply disappear,” he added.

According to Lithuania’s air navigation service provider Oro Navigacija, the number of GPS interference reports from aircrews surged tenfold in January year-on-year but declined in March.

Source: BNS

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