Lithuania is designing extensive defenses for the future Gizai electricity substation, a key node in the Harmony Link connection between the Baltic states and western Europe. The facility will stand about 30 kilometers west of Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave and is intended to help maintain power supplies if a wider conflict disrupts the region. Its location near the Suwalki Gap, the stretch of Poland and Lithuania between Russia and Belarus, has heightened security significance for NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) members Warsaw and Vilnius. Intelligence sources told Reuters that Russia could use a false flag attack (an operation meant to hide the attacker’s identity) to test NATO unity, while Moscow has denied involvement in recent sabotage attacks against Germany’s electricity grid. Litgrid plans reinforced fencing, tunnel-detection sensors, duplicate equipment and plastic-reinforced concrete enclosures for transformers and other critical machinery. The site will cover 35 hectares so a single military drone strike would affect only part of the equipment. The defenses are intended to withstand multiple Shahed drones carrying up to 100 kilograms of explosives, although enclosed equipment will require artificial cooling. Lithuania’s military is advising Litgrid on securing critical energy infrastructure. Lithuania plans to ask the European Union later this month to cover at least half of the added costs, with Litgrid estimating the security measures will add at least €48 million to the project. Last year, the Baltic states and Poland sought €382 million from the EU to protect existing grid assets but received €112 million. Officials from Lithuania and Poland say the added costs should not fall solely on countries bordering Russia and that Harmony Link should not become Europe’s most expensive interconnection.