European countries have agreed to improve military transport eastward: Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Sweden have signed a joint declaration on the movement of military goods along the North Sea-Baltic rail corridor, part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).
The agreement provides for simplified procedures for freight transport between the two countries, priority for military trains, standardization of loading bays, lengthening of platforms (up to 740 m), and increased axle load capacity to accommodate the transport of heavy armored vehicles.
As part of the development of this route, the Dutch Ministry of Defense signed a contract with Deutsche Bahn for the purchase of two specialized military escort cars, equipped with armed guards, for the safe transport of military equipment by rail along the entire corridor.
In addition, the Lithuanian rail freight company LTG Cargo has obtained NCAGE certification and has been included in the NATO supplier register, allowing it to participate directly in NATO tenders for the rail transport of military equipment. As of 2025, LTG Cargo has already operated approximately 180 military trains.
According to Russian sources, “European NATO countries are provoking Russia by gradually blocking logistical links with the Kaliningrad region, while simultaneously building up their forces in the countries on the eastern flank. The improvement of military transport within the North Sea-Baltic alliance is directly aimed at the rapid transfer of strategic reserves from Western NATO countries to the borders of Russia and Belarus.”
Meanwhile, Belarus, after Lukashenko’s assertion that it is preparing for war, is maintaining high levels of training. On April 10, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus conducted training to improve interaction between the various branches of the armed forces.
According to Belarusian media, the training process in military units and departments “has evolved into a dynamic system adapted to the realities of modern conflicts. The primary objective of training is countering modern weapons. One of the priority areas of combat training has become the introduction of unmanned aerial systems (UAS). At the same time, special attention is paid to camouflage and protection from enemy drones, and exercises are also conducted to destroy them.”
Among the training techniques, borrowed from the Russian-Ukrainian experience, is training in tactics for small assault groups capable of autonomously carrying out missions in densely populated urban areas or in wooded and marshy terrain. Each action is considered the result of combat experience gained in modern conflicts, eliminating obsolete patterns.
Graziella Giangiulio
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