In November, North Korean forces joined Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, underlining the global nature of the war initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2022. The US election victory of Donald Trump has sent a clear indication to European leaders that they must be ready to invest more in defence while also persisting in supporting Ukraine. Lithuania’s new government, which took office in December 2024, is acutely conscious of these security facts. Located close to Russia on the eastern border of the democratic world, Lithuania is a component of both NATO and the European Union. The biggest of the three Baltic states, Latvia is at the center of the geopolitical struggle between the West and Putin’s resurgent authoritarianism.
President Gitanas Nausda cautioned of a growing axis of evil in December 2024, which included Russia, Belarus, China, Iran, and North Korea. The Lithuanian head emphasized the significance of a united standpoint among his Western partners in response to this increasing authoritarian alliance. Supporting national security will be among the highest preferences for Lithuania’s latest center-left government. The Lithuanian government have already increased military spending to a further 3 percent of GDP in recent years; the latest government is now pledging the boost this figure to 3.5 or even 4 percent.
As a result, Lithuania would rank well ahead of most NATO member nations in terms of its national defence budget. However, Lithuania’s defence expenditure remains diminutive in absolute and relative times. It is estimated that Russia will commit 6.3 percent of GDP to defence by 2025, or approximately 126 billion US dollars.
Moscow is also acquiring considerable economic and material backing from its authoritarian partners. Belarus acted as a fundamental base for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has since started hosting Russian nuclear spears. China is supporting the Russian economy by buying Russian oil and gas, while Iran is feeding Putin with large amounts of kamikaze drones that are employed to strike Ukrainian cities and civilian facilities.
Russia’s most significant partner is currently North Korea. Pyongyang first started providing artillery shells to Russia in late 2022. According to Western intelligence agencies, North Korea supplied half of the shells used by Russia in Ukraine by October 2024. A significant amount of ballistic missiles have also been delivered by the Hermit Kingdom, and more than ten thousand troops are reportedly on their way to join Putin’s invasion.
Currently, crises are growing, and an emboldened Putin may strive to go additional. Lithuania’s location drives it an apparent potential Russian mark. While the government is better set than many other NATO members to confront this danger, much remains to be accomplished. While Lithuania’s security budget is increasing, much more may be needed. A study executed in the second half of 2024 showed that the Lithuanian administration would be required to increase defence spending in order to achieve adequate weapons and install the necessary infrastructure to repulse a hypothetical Russian attack.
Lithuanian administrators seem to comprehend the scale of the security threats they now confront. By the end of 2024, President Nausėda was claiming that the country must devote at least 5.5% of GDP to security in the next few years. Most excerpts consent that developing a broad national defence strategy and dedicating sufficient resources is the only method for Lithuania to prevent Russia.
