Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda at the European Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium, Thursday, June 18, 2026.
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Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said on Thursday that the political leaders of the three Baltic states agreed that the constitutional ban on the deployment of nuclear weapons in the country should be abolished.
The decision came shortly after lawmakers in Finland, another NATO member that shares a border with Russia, voted to lift a long-standing ban on nuclear weapons.
Immediately after the decision, Nauseda told reporters that Article 137 of the Lithuanian Constitution was “outdated” and had become “outdated,” state broadcaster LRT reported.
He added that Congress and government leaders were “virtually unanimous” in favor of removing the policy rather than modifying it, and that it would have been “a real shame” if Lithuania had been left in a weaker position within NATO.
Lithuania’s Article 137 explicitly prohibited the deployment of weapons of mass destruction and the establishment of foreign military bases on Lithuanian territory.
“The geopolitical situation is deteriorating. Our constitution was written at a time when the geopolitical situation was completely different,” Nauseda said, according to Reuters.
Nauseda said the removal of this clause means Vilnius will be able to adapt to the evolving security situation in the future. However, he added that there are no immediate plans to store nuclear weapons in the country.
Lithuania, which borders the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies, providing extensive military equipment and financial support during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s more than four-year conflict with Kiev.
NATO’s eastern flank
The Financial Times reported last month that the United States was in talks to secure new nuclear capabilities in Europe, citing three anonymous sources briefed on the talks.
According to the report, NATO eastern bloc countries such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are interested in the possibility of hosting so-called U.S. dual-capable aircraft (DCA) capable of nuclear strikes.
The German Air Force participated in the “Freedom Shield 26” exercise near Pavlade, Lithuania during media day on June 20, 2026. Approximately 2,900 soldiers from eight NATO countries are participating in these exercises, which last several weeks.
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Russia launched a major missile and drone attack against Ukraine on Thursday, targeting military, fuel and energy complexes in Kiev and other parts of the country.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said via Telegram that at least 13 people had been killed in the Ukrainian capital after the attack and that July 3 had been declared a day of mourning in the city.
Some of Russia’s neighboring countries took emergency measures in response to the attack. Finland has set up a temporary “air restriction zone” in the eastern Gulf, and Poland has scrambled its fighter jets as a precaution.
NATO leaders are scheduled to meet in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7 and 8 to discuss regional security and develop a roadmap to achieve the alliance’s key goals.
