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Lithuania Considers Amending Constitution to Allow Deployment of American Nuclear Warheads
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Lithuania is in talks with the US to potentially host American nuclear weapons on its territory, the country's defense minister announced, according to POLITICO on June 3.
"Discussions are ongoing," Minister of National Defense Robertas Kaunas told reporters on June 2. The talks come as Washington moves to scale back its military presence in Europe, raising concerns about security gaps for NATO allies along the alliance's eastern flank.
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"Lithuania is certainly not standing on the sidelines," Kaunas added.
The Baltic country's constitution prohibits weapons of mass destruction within its borders, though President Gitanas Nausėda has floated amending the fundamental law, citing current security risks.
The Financial Times reported this week that US officials were in discussions to deploy nuclear warheads and bombers to countries on NATO's eastern flank.
American nuclear weapons are currently stored at military facilities in Germany, Belgium, Italy, Türkiye, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
The push reflects a broader European scramble for nuclear reassurance as confidence in long-term US security guarantees erodes.
Norway and France signed an agreement in late May tying Oslo to the French nuclear umbrella, while Denmark and Sweden have weighed similar arrangements, with France standing as the European Union's only nuclear-armed member.
The thinning American presence behind Vilnius's calculations has been building for months. Washington cut its combat brigade presence in Europe from 4 to 3 in May, returning troop levels to their 2021 baseline as the Trump administration pressed NATO members to assume more responsibility for the continent's conventional defense.
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