Lithuania’s state emergency reserves may fail to reach the public in a timely manner during a crisis or wartime situation, according to an audit by the State Control Inspectorate released on April 22, 2026.
The audit, titled “Formation, Accumulation and Management of State Reserves,” found that only about 10 percent of storage sites for emergency supplies were selected based on an assessment of real risks, as required by law. The majority of facilities housing medical and civil defense supplies are located in areas that could turn into inaccessible or destroyed during extreme scenarios, including zones prone to explosions, structural collapse, flooding or contamination by hazardous materials.
the distribution of reserves across the country is uneven, and resupply efforts are not tied to specific crisis scenarios, raising concerns that aid could arrive too late when needed most. Some storage sites, including those holding medical and civil defense supplies, are situated in areas from which residents would be evacuated during an emergency, potentially leaving the reserves unreachable.
State Control Inspector Irena Segalovičienė emphasized that reserves should be stored closer to the population and that the storage network must be planned according to specific risk scenarios and regional needs. This approach would support ensure adequate supplies of essential resources in every region and enable rapid delivery when required.
The audit likewise noted that while the system assumes residents would rely on emergency supplies from households for the first three days, followed by municipal support from days four to six, and state reserves from day seven onward, in practice, many municipalities do not maintain their own stockpiles.
food product reserves are not being accumulated nationally and are instead established through private contracts with suppliers, meaning there is no guarantee that all regions would have sufficient access to food during a crisis.
The State Control Inspectorate has recommended reorganizing reserve storage, selecting sites based on potential threats and their consequences, and increasing decentralization to bring supplies closer to communities. The Government Chancellery is expected to develop a storage expansion strategy by the end of September 2026 and implement it by the end of 2030.
This year, the Chancellery also plans to finalize a national-level emergency management plan that would clearly define response scenarios, institutional responsibilities, and required resources.
