Italy has deployed its SAMP/T long-range ground-based air defence system in Lithuania as part of the Rotational Nato Air Defence Model.
Lithuania's Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene speaks with the media as she arrives for a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Harry
There are new warnings of a wider conflict coming to Europe as Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says in a new interview his country has belief Russia may attack Poland or Lithuania, both NATO members, as early as the summer.
"The security of Europe depends on the security of Ukraine. That is why we should speed up Ukraine's accession to the EU. I propose a date of Jan. 1, 2030,” he said, adding that the opening of the first cluster of negotiations could begin within a few weeks.
As a result of the Russian threat, the Baltic state has decided to increase its military spending to 6% of its GDP by 2030.
Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Sakalienė says Europe needs to be "armed to the teeth" now that the US is pivoting away from its traditional transatlantic alliance. She explained to Euronews how her family was exiled in Siberia by the Soviet Union.
Lithuania has vowed to increase its defense spending to the GDP percentage level President Donald Trump is demanding.
Russia quickly makes cheap, expendable weapons while the West largely focuses on big-ticket items, a former foreign minister in Europe warned.
Croatia will deploy an artillery howitzer battery to Lithuania as part of a German-led NATO multinational battle group, with the unit expected to arrive in early 2026 at the latest, Lithuanian media reported Monday.
Lithuania, a small former Soviet republic in the Baltics, has been sending defense officials to Hawaii for talks with U.S. and other military leaders.
Europe might be concerned with Trump's Ukraine strategy. But Americans should also be irritated with inadequate European, especially German, defense spending.
Roughly 10,000 soldiers from across Europe are taking part in NATO's largest exercises of 2025, dubbed Steadfast Dart.