Lithuanian army to reinforce security along Russian Kaliningrad border

“Following yesterday's incident on the Latvian border, and after assessing the overall regional security situation along with signals that Russia may announce a mobilization, we are taking additional preventive measures,” he said.

Katelynas asked Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas to deploy army troops to assist border guards.

The minister emphasized that the situation along the Lithuanian border remains calm for now.

“The military deployment is a preventative measure designed to ensure our readiness and prevent similar incidents. Our border is secure, we are monitoring the regional situation, and Lithuania is ready,” he said.

The Lithuanian parliament advanced a constitutional amendment in a preliminary vote that would lift the country’s ban on hosting nuclear weapons and foreign military bases.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned that Russia will take “all necessary measures” if Lithuania goes through with lifting its ban on hosting nuclear weapons.

Peskov added that deploying nuclear weapons in Lithuania would mark a direct step toward escalation.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said on July 4 that his country intended to join NATO’s collective nuclear deterrence system. He said the constitutional amendment should remove “the existing restriction on the possible use of nuclear weapons in Lithuania.”

The Lithuanian Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs and Law Enforcement backed an initiative to repeal Article 137 of the Constitution on September 9, which bans the stationing of nuclear weapons in the country.

Peskov said on September 11 that Lithuania would be “in the crosshairs” of Russian nuclear weapons if allied nuclear weapons were stationed on its territory.

Lithuanian lawmakers, on September 22, approved a proposal to remove from the Constitution a provision banning the stationing of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, on the country’s territory.