Following Helsinki, Lithuanian Parties Approve Nuclear-Free Status Revision
World
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda announced that the country's top political leadership has decided to abolish the constitutional ban on hosting nuclear weapons and establishing foreign military bases. According to the head of state, Article 137 of the republic's basic law is completely outdated and obsolete. At present, leaders of Lithuania's political parties have already reached a principal agreement to amend the constitution, and are currently deciding whether to pass the changes via a parliamentary vote or a nationwide referendum.
This move follows a parallel decision by Finland, where the repeal of a decades-long nuclear ban officially entered into force this week, allowing NATO allies to transport and position nuclear armaments on Finnish soil. Additionally, Helsinki has partnered with the American defense firm Lockheed Martin to establish Europe's first MLRS maintenance hub in Tampere. These developments triggered a fierce backlash in Russia, where Aleksey Zhuravlyov, first deputy chairman of the State Duma's defense committee, openly threatened Finland with the destruction of half its territory. Lithuania, which already hosts a multinational NATO battlegroup with up to 5,000 German troops, justifies its nuclear pivot as a necessary measure to counterbalance Russia's nuclear-capable arsenals in the Kaliningrad enclave and Belarus.
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