The Guardian reported the information.The Lithuanian government stated that, as part of a joint initiative by the ministries of defense and education, it hopes to train over 22,000 citizens, including schoolchildren, in drone operation as part of efforts to "expand civil resistance training" to counter any future threats from Russia.The program will be tailored for different age groups. Third- and fourth-grade students, aged eight to ten, will learn to assemble and operate simple drones. Secondary school students will design and manufacture drone components, as well as learn to assemble and operate advanced drones.Like its neighbors Estonia and Latvia, Lithuania — a country of 2.8 million people bordering Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave and Moscow’s ally Belarus — has been on heightened combat alert since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.In Lithuania, the government plans to spend €3.3 million on specialized equipment, including FPV drones for indoor and outdoor use, control and video transmission systems, and a mobile app for UAV training.Defense Minister Dovile Šakaliene stated that by 2028, they plan for 15,500 adults and 7,000 children to gain drone operation skills. She added that drone control centers will open in Jonava, Tauragė, and Kėdainiai in September, with six more training centers planned in other regions of Lithuania by 2028.The training will be conducted by the Lithuanian riflemen’s union in collaboration with the Lithuanian non-formal education agency, which will teach children in primary and secondary schools.Tomas Godliauskas, Lithuania’s vice-minister of National Defense, said the training would take the form of extracurricular courses designed to enhance children’s technical literacy.He added that the youngest participants would engage in simple drone assembly and piloting through games and experiments, middle school students would learn the basics of programming as well as indoor drone piloting and construction, and high school students would design 3D drone components and build FPV drones.The sense of a Russian threat in the Baltic countries was highlighted on Wednesday by the expulsion of a Russian diplomat from Estonia.  Foreign Ministry declared Russian Embassy First Secretary Dmitry Prilepin persona non grata on August 13 and is kicking the diplomat out of the country.