Lithuanian president warns Russia becoming "more reckless"

Lithuania’s president warned that Russia is becoming “more reckless” and that drone incursions, provocations and sabotage had become “business as usual” on NATO’s eastern flank.

“Russia should be stopped in Ukraine because otherwise it will need to be stopped somewhere else,” Gitanas Nauseda said at the Lithuania-US Business Forum in Miami, Bloomberg reports.

Nauseda said the presence of US troops in Lithuania is meant to deter Russia rather than prepare for combat, praising a recent decision by Washington to send a new rotation of soldiers to the country.

The Baltic nation, a member of the European Union, has tense relations with Moscow and is a staunch supporter of Kyiv. Lithuania shares a border with Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad and its ally Belarus, from which several drones have entered Lithuanian airspace. This month saw the first use of NATO jets to intercept a Russian drone over the country.

Vilnius has ramped up defense spending in recent years, reaching 5.38% of gross domestic product this year, in a bid to deter Russian aggression. Lithuania also now hosts a brigade of German troops.

Nauseda said Lithuania wants its defense industry to expand “three to four times faster” than the broader economy as the country seeks to turn rising military spending into domestic production. Lithuania seeks to become part of global defense supply chains and to push for joint production with Ukrainian companies, especially on drones, according to the president.

“We can produce ourselves, produce for Ukrainian needs, and count it as Lithuania’s military support to Ukraine,” Nauseda added.

By Vafa Guliyeva