Lithuania has agreed to remove a long-standing constitutional ban on nuclear weapons and foreign military bases in a major security overhaul driven by escalating fears of Russian aggression, President Gitanas Naus\u0117da has said.<\/p>\n
The Baltic state\u2019s Article 137 currently prohibits weapons of mass destruction and military bases belonging to foreign states. But senior political leaders have now agreed it is \u201coutdated\u201d and should be deleted entirely rather than amended.<\/p>\n
President Naus\u0117da said there was broad political agreement following talks<\/a> with parliamentary faction leaders.<\/p>\n \u201cOpinions practically coincided,\u201d he said, adding that most parties supported scrapping the clause altogether.<\/p>\n He said only procedural differences remained, including calls from some factions for a referendum, though government figures insist the Seimas already has a democratic mandate to proceed.<\/p>\n The move would mark a significant shift in Lithuania\u2019s defence posture and further align the country with NATO\u2019s evolving deterrence strategy on its eastern flank.<\/p>\n Vilnius has argued that maintaining a constitutional ban risks<\/a> leaving Lithuania as a \u201cweak link or grey zone\u201d within the alliance at a time of heightened tensions with Russia.<\/p>\n The decision follows similar developments in Finland, which recently relaxed legal restrictions on nuclear materials after joining NATO<\/a>, bringing its legal framework closer in line with alliance expectations.<\/p>\n The announcement comes amid growing<\/a> alarm across the Baltic states over Russia\u2019s military activity following its invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n Lithuanian leaders have repeatedly warned that the region faces increased risk<\/a> of spillover conflict and hybrid threats.<\/p>\n Last month<\/a>, President Naus\u0117da and the prime minister were briefly forced into underground shelters after an unmanned aerial vehicle entered Lithuanian airspace, sparking renewed concerns over air defence readiness.<\/p>\n The war in Ukraine has triggered a sweeping reassessment of defence policy across Eastern Europe, with NATO\u2019s front-line states accelerating military integration, civil defence planning and infrastructure hardening.<\/p>\n Lithuanian officials have reportedly been in contact with Ukrainian defence manufacturers and civil protection experts over potential bomb shelter systems, according to industry sources cited by POLITICO.<\/p>\n