Defending Baltics 2025: NATO’s Eastern Flank Resilience in Focus as Experts Gather in Vilnius
Over 500 defense and security experts, diplomats, and industry leaders will gather in Vilnius on November 17–18 for Defending Baltics 2025, a major conference addressing NATO’s Eastern Flank resilience and the evolving security challenges shaped by the war in Ukraine.
Vilnius will host Defending Baltics 2025 on November 17–18, bringing together high-level decision-makers, security experts, and defense industry representatives to discuss how NATO and the European Union can strengthen the resilience of the Alliance’s Eastern Flank amid growing geopolitical tensions.
Now in its second year, Defending Baltics has become one of the most significant regional forums focused on collective defense and security cooperation in Northern and Eastern Europe. More than 500 participants — including military officials, politicians, diplomats, and defense industry executives from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and the United States — are expected to attend.
This year’s agenda spans a wide spectrum of issues, from lessons learned in Ukraine and hybrid threats to technological innovation and regional defense integration. Panel discussions will explore the use of drones and artificial intelligence in modern warfare, maritime security and logistics across the Baltic Sea, as well as counter-sabotage strategies and resilience against disinformation.
“Defending the Baltics also means defending Europe,” said European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius, who will open the conference. “To prevent war and preserve peace, we must all work together – Baltic States, Ukraine, the European Union, and NATO. It is for the EU to support strengthening its Eastern border through flagship projects such as Eastern Flank Watch and the European Drone Defence Initiative. It is for the Baltic States to use all opportunities to build their defense capabilities. And it is for all of us – to work with, to learn from, and to help Ukraine to defend itself, the Baltics, and Europe.”
The Defending Baltics 2025 conference underscores the region’s growing importance within the broader European defense architecture and the need for continued technological and operational coordination among NATO allies and partners.
