Russia: The possible deployment of a NATO military base and nuclear weapons in Lithuania would further escalate tensions, and Russia would be forced to take retaliatory measures to ensure its national security, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
His comments came after Lithuania's parliament, the Seimas, earlier in the day backed a constitutional amendment to lift the prohibition on deploying weapons of mass destruction on its territory, potentially opening the way for NATO nuclear weapons to be stationed in the Baltic state.
The amendment passed its first reading in the parliament on Tuesday with 106 lawmakers in favour, 18 against and six abstaining.
A final vote cannot be held for at least three months and will require the backing of at least 94 of the parliament's 141 members. Parliament Speaker Juozas Olekas said the final vote is expected on January 12, 2027.
Lithuania's constitution bars weapons of mass destruction and foreign military bases on its territory. The proposed amendment lifts the restriction on such weapons while leaving the prohibition on foreign military bases intact.
Following US President Donald Trump's statement that the United States was considering establishing a permanent military base in Lithuania, the country's Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius said it stood ready to cover the costs of such a presence.
Lithuania is not the only NATO state reinforcing the alliance's eastern flank. On the same day, Sweden announced that it would deploy its most advanced air defence system, the Patriot, along with around 100 military personnel to Rzeszow in southeastern Poland, marking another possible NATO deployment in a Russian neighbour.
The Swedish government said the operation would begin on December 1 and could last up to seven months, with the troops protecting a key military logistics hub from missile and drone attacks.
Sofia Westermark, commander of the Swedish Air Defence Regiment, described the mission as the most complex military operation the country has undertaken since joining the alliance, stressing that amid heightened tensions on NATO's eastern flank, the hub faces potential threats from both the ground and the air.