Lithuanian arms control inspector visiting Russian bomber unit

The Lithuanian inspector is visiting the unit in Engelsk, the Russian Saratov region, as part of a Turkish-led group of inspectors.

The arms control inspectors will conduct an assessment visit under the 2011 Vienna document of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Defense Ministry said.

During the visit, the Lithuanian and Turkish arms control inspectors will hear a report of the commander of the division about the unit and will have an opportunity to get the personnel numbers serving in the unit and the existing number of declared aircraft, as well as see the aircraft.

A visit to units of the Russian aviation base and communication with personnel serving there will give the inspectors an opportunity to see daily life of the unit, the ministry said in a press release.

Based on the information collected during the assessment visit, the arms control inspectors will draft and distribute a report to OSCE countries.

This is the first foreign visit of a Lithuanian arms control inspector this year. A Lithuanian inspector last visited Russia a year ago, while Russian inspectors checked military operations in Lithuania in November of 2017.

The 2011 Vienna document puts OSCE member-states to present annual information about their military forces, defense capacity development plans and military budgets, as well as notify about large-scale military operations in advance.

Under the document, every OSCE country has the right to check whether another country in the organization is engaged in large-scale military operations, which should be reported in advance, as well as availability of undeclared military capabilities.