Lithuania moves to lift ban on storing nuclear weapons as Russia warns of retaliation
Lithuania's parliament has taken a preliminary step toward suspending a ban on storing nuclear weapons on its territory, in a move that has drawn a sharp warning from Russia. Lawmakers in the Seimas backed the proposal on Tuesday in Vilnius, but the change is not yet final. A second vote is scheduled for 12 January, and only then could the constitutional prohibition be removed.
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The measure passed with 106 votes in favour out of 141 possible, according to the parliamentary tally. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in July that political parties had agreed on a plan to suspend the ban, describing it as a response to changing security calculations in the region. He also said at the time that there were no immediate plans to store nuclear weapons in the country, but that removing the restriction would give Lithuania options if the security situation changed.
Moscow responded by calling the move an escalation and saying it would retaliate if the change went ahead. The Kremlin said the proposal could lead to a new stage of tension in the region and suggested it could affect the wider balance of forces in Europe. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such developments would not contribute to stability or predictability on the continent and would instead amount to a significant escalation of tensions.
The debate matters because Lithuania is a NATO member on the alliance's eastern flank and has been among the European states most exposed to security concerns linked to Russia. Any move to alter rules on nuclear storage would carry implications beyond Lithuania's borders, particularly given the sensitivity of nuclear posture in the Baltic region. The issue also comes at a time when European governments are reassessing deterrence and defence arrangements in response to the war-driven security environment.
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Lithuania has said it will remain a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, even if the domestic ban is lifted. That distinction suggests the current debate is about whether the country should keep the legal option open, rather than an immediate decision to host nuclear arms. The presence of a rotating US armoured battalion of nearly 1,000 troops in Lithuania since 2019 also underlines the country's role in NATO's forward defence posture.
What remains unclear is whether the second parliamentary vote in January will secure the support needed to change the constitution. It is also not known whether any practical steps would follow if the ban is removed, or whether the proposal is intended mainly as a deterrent signal. For now, the issue has intensified tensions between Vilnius and Moscow while leaving the next stage dependent on the January vote.
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