"The main position, at least of the government, is that we need to expect everything and be ready for everything. People often ask whether there will be a war. I think the only person who can say whether there will be a war is Vladimir Putin. And I don't know whether he already has that answer for himself," Simonyte said in an interview with the public broadcaster LRT, published on Thursday.
In her words, Lithuania has been observing Belarus' militarization for some time now, and Russia's military buildup near Ukraine's northern border might seem like pressure on the country, but "distances are not very long from the EU's eastern border".
"Obviously, this situation has to be taken very seriously, and when speaking with our NATO and EU partners, we paid their attention earlier to this interesting fact. It seemed that everything is centered around Ukraine but now there's more of that understanding," she said.
The Lithuanian government is also looking into the situation regarding the recent return of Russia's only LNG vessel, FSRU Marshal Vasilevskiy.
"We also have this information and we are really working to ensure that our energy system is ready for any unexpected things. I don’t say it will definitely happen but the fact is that we need to be ready," the prime minister said.
Russia now has more than 100,000 troops and military equipment near its border with Ukraine, with the West increasingly concerned that a major military conflict might break out in Europe. Moreover, Russia has recently been moving its troops to Belarus near the EU border for planned joint army drills.
As tensions continue to rise over Russia's military buildup, NATO allies announced their decision to put forces on standby and send additional ships and fighter jets to NATO deployments in Eastern Europe.