Maybe today at last it’s time to SPEAK?

Do the signals from tonight still seem like small random trivia to someone? Probably not anymore. Time to wake up, ladies and gentlemen. Time - while there’s still time.

It’s time, urgently and without delay, to go and do the household tasks we were supposed to do not yesterday or the day before, but on the 24th day of 2022. AT THE LATEST. Well, we didn’t do them, so we didn’t - let’s do them today.

After tonight’s events, of course social networks were flooded with oceans of insights, expert opinions, outrage, and everything in between. The usual daily “procedure” that exhausts us, drains our energy and emotions. Harmful to ourselves. Because... the more you read, the scarier it gets. All those mostly empty and pointless indignations create noise that confuses our minds, and important information gets lost in that sea of noise.

So what happened tonight?

Commentator A. Bačiulis writes that the Russian drone attack tonight was not only in Poland

but also crossed into Belarus. He also writes that “not only the Polish Air Force took part in destroying the drones, but also NATO allies - a Dutch flying tanker that ensured continuous aviation alertness in the air, an Italian reconnaissance aircraft that arrived from Estonia, American and Dutch combat aircraft (although those, it seems, did not fire). The military does not believe all drones were destroyed; searches for those that fell are ongoing,” emphasizing that all Polish institutions and NATO worked and acted without  reproach tonight.

I’ll add the comment from Minister D. Šakalienė about the day’s events: “During the night, services intensively exchanged information (VSAT–NKVC–LK), algorithms work. Air defense forces were prepared and were authorized to shoot down targets. We exchanged information with allies and POL. The largest Lithuanian’s Army exercise cycle Perkūno Griausmas 25 is currently being conducted; within its framework we also support VSAT exercises Priedanga-25; about 6,000 Lithuanian and 4,000 allied troops participate in the entire cycle. An intensive NATO, US and national exercise cycle is currently underway in the Baltic region - about 45,000 troops are training in total. All NATO headquarters are operating, from strategic to tactical, they closely cooperate at their respective levels with national headquarters. The ZAPAD exercise situation is being monitored in detail; enhanced vigilance activities are being implemented across all domains, adapting force postures accordingly.”

That would be a concise analysis of the events and circumstances. Probably this amount of information and analysis is enough for you and me. Where am I going with this? I have written more than once about our learned “either-or” behavior model. Either I absorb all the information, wallow in various guesses and speculations, and ultimately drown in a sea of misinformation, or I shrug everything off and leave it to fate. Unfortunately, neither of these approaches is appropriate today.

Today I want to give you the word “SPECIFIC.” What can I specifically do for me and my family’s safety. ME. SPECIFICALLY.

Tonight neither you nor your family will learn, suddenly, how to shoot, throw a grenade, or operate a drone. But tonight you can start with yourself and your partner, wife or husband. Sit down and instead of endlessly scrolling or flitting between Netflix choices and never picking THAT movie, consult with them. What and how would we do if it happened. And tomorrow, calmly, having thought through the information or action plan, sit your children down beside you. Finally, perhaps talk to your building’s community that it’s time to clean out the basements, because, well, you never know... Ordering a rubbish removal service for the basements takes as long as it takes to find information online and get a phone number.

Today we are as strong as we are resilient. Don’t let panic take over you; don’t spread it around. Panic, disinformation, and all manner of speculation first and foremost harm ourselves, the civilians.

And we will need endurance and cool nerves. Because this is only the beginning. And it will depend on us whether we withstand this exceptionally difficult test.

I thank the Media Support Fund for supporting the post series "War in Ukraine: The Gap Between the Military and Society”