Russia warned on Friday it would point its nuclear warheads at Lithuania if the Baltic state hosted any weapons from the nuclear arsenals of its NATO allies on its territory.
The threat comes as Lithuania is moving to lift a constitutional ban on having nuclear weapons stored in the country. The decision is part of an effort to boost its security posture amid Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV Lithuania’s move would be “a very serious turn in terms of escalating tensions.” “If there are nuclear weapons on the territory that are aimed at us, accordingly, the territory of that country will fall into the crosshairs of our own nuclear weapons,” he said.
The Lithuanian decision could come into force this winter. It requires a two-thirds majority in parliament to pass and has the support of the president and major parties. Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda announced the plans in July, saying his country wanted to be an “integral part of this nuclear deterrence.”
Lithuania’s move reflects a broader effort among NATO’s eastern members to strengthen deterrence as Russia’s war in Ukraine reshapes European security. Moscow’s response underscores how any expansion of NATO’s nuclear posture closer to Russian territory could intensify the already heightened nuclear dimension of the confrontation between Russia and the alliance. Even if no allied nuclear weapons are ultimately stationed in Lithuania, removing the constitutional prohibition would give Vilnius greater flexibility to participate in NATO’s nuclear deterrence and signal its willingness to assume a larger role in collective defense. Russia’s threat, meanwhile, is likely intended both to deter Lithuania from proceeding and to warn other NATO members against similar steps, further raising tensions along the alliance’s eastern flank. (AFP+EIR)
