Lithuanian Shooters Union experiencing increase in popularity as demonstrated by high demand
In the face of escalating tensions with Russia and Belarus, the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Association, also known as the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union (LŠS or Šauliai), is playing a significant role as a civilian self-defense institution. The organization focuses on enhancing state defense, crisis management, population protection, and boosting societal resilience and willingness for armed resistance.
The Lithuanian government has demonstrated its commitment to strengthening the LŠS, with funding increasing substantially from about 2 million EUR in 2020 to 13.6 million EUR in 2025. This funding boost reflects the importance of the LŠS in Lithuania’s security framework, as outlined in new strategies for the Riflemen’s Union covering the period 2024–2035. These strategies emphasize organizational development and the LŠS’s contribution to national defense.
The Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union is being equipped with modern weaponry, including German-made H&K G36 rifles, which are standard issue in the Lithuanian Armed Forces since 2017. This armament effort underscores Lithuania’s broader defense posture, which has been actively fortified in response to increased regional threats.
The actions of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union are not limited to Lithuania's borders. In Ukraine, the Ukrainian military intelligence has made internal documents about Russia’s newest submarine, the strategic nuclear submarine K-555 Knyaz Pozharsky, public. Meanwhile, Russia is targeting key infrastructure in Ukrainian cities such as Kherson and Mykolaiv, causing authorities to call for evacuation.
Elsewhere, Russia and China have begun a naval exercise in the Sea of Japan, including artillery drills, anti-submarine warfare, air defense, and search and rescue operations. In a separate incident, Ukrainian MP Olexiy Kusnezov and three others were arrested in a bribery scandal involving the purchase of electronic warfare systems and drones.
Amidst these ongoing conflicts, Pope Leo XIV recently remembered the war victims worldwide during the closing Mass of the World Youth Day in Rome, where over a million young people celebrated. The situation in Ukraine remains a significant global concern, with Donald Trump's ultimatum for a ceasefire expiring in a week, with no response expected from the Kremlin.
In a tragic turn of events, journalist Viktoria Roshchyna died in Russian captivity in 2024 and has been posthumously awarded the "Order of Freedom" by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. These events serve as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for peace and freedom in the region.
References: 1. Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union (LŠS or Šauliai) 2. Lithuania boosts funding for paramilitary force amid regional tensions with Russia and Belarus 3. Lithuania's paramilitary force LŠS receives modern weapons as country bolsters defense
- The Lithuanian government's substantial increase in funding for the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union (LŠS or Šauliai) from 2020 to 2025, as highlighted in new strategies for the Riflemen’s Union covering the period 2024–2035, indicates a commitment to strengthening the organization's role in Lithuania's employment policy, specifically in terms of national defense and crisis management.
- Amidst ongoing conflicts in regions such as Ukraine, where war-and-conflicts are escalating, the focus on the employment policy of civilian self-defense institutions, like the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, has become increasingly political, with these policies playing a significant role in the general news landscape.
