Lithuania vows to boost defense spending to 5-6% of GDP, citing the threat of Russian aggression

[January 17, 2025]  By LIUDAS DAPKUS

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuania has decided to raise its spending on defense to between 5% and 6% of overall national economic output starting in 2026 due to the threat of Russian aggression in the region, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said Friday.

The Baltic nation, which borders Russia, currently spends a bit over 3%. With the president's pledge, it becomes the first NATO nation to vow to reach a 5% goal recently called for by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Nausėda said the “historic decision” was taken by the State Defense Council on Friday to achieve that level from 2026 to 2030.

Reaching that goal would make Lithuania the NATO country spending the most on defense as a percentage of its economic output. The current leader is Poland, which already spends more than 4% and plans to go higher.

“The possibility of Russian military aggression is still real, but not imminent. We need to increase our efforts to strengthen defense and deterrence significantly, devoting more resources to this end," Nausėda told reporters after the meeting in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.

Trump has for years expressed skepticism about NATO, openly questioning the value of the alliance that has defined American foreign policy for decades and threatening not to defend members that fail to meet defense-spending goals.

Earlier this month, Trump said NATO countries should spend at least 5% of GDP on defense, up from the current 2% target. He also said he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of Greenland, an autonomous territory belonging to NATO member Denmark.

“Our security is also assured by our membership in the NATO alliance, but it will only be effective if we are prepared to defend ourselves,” Nausėda said.

Speaking at the news conference alongside the president, Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said the additional financing would go toward advance payments on Leopard tanks, air defense systems and other equipment, which will help to accelerate deliveries.

The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, gives a statement ahead of a summit of the Baltic Sea NATO countries in Helsinki, Finland, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (Antti Aimo-Koivisto/Lehtikuva via AP)

Šakalienė is part of a new center-left government that took office last year vowing to make security a key priority for the nation of just under 3 million people. In one of its early moves last month it increased the state's international borrowing limit in order to be able to borrow the money for defense investments.

There has been a mixed reaction from European NATO leaders to Trump's call to massively raise investments on defense, with some stressing the difficulty of spending so much on defense, while others — particularly those on NATO's eastern front who feel most vulnerable — are embracing the idea.

Some in this region feel that, despite the costs, enhanced deterrence now would still be far less costly than facing Russian aggression later.

Margarita Šešelgytė, the director of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius, argues that increased defense spending is needed because Russia shows no sign of relenting in its nearly three-year war in Ukraine.

“We are a front-line state and should act like one. The war is ongoing and Russia’s military production is functioning at full capacity," she said in an interview this week with The Associated Press. “The new administration in the U.S. adds uncertainty to the future situation in Ukraine. America is losing its appetite to be present here, so we need to speed up investments in our security.”

She acknowledges that financing the purchases of weapons and other investments raises the question of where that money should comes from, and undoubtedly “would stress the budget significantly.”

Because of Lithuania's recent economic growth, it is an strong position to borrow internationally. Still, she said, “the economy of a democratic country cannot function in such a regime for long periods, but right now we need a burst of initiatives and investments."

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