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Lithuanian defense minister backs lifting constitutional ban on nukes deployment

Lithuania's Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas has voiced support for removing the constitutional ban on deploying weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear arms, on the country's territory. President Gitanas Nauseda and other top leaders have also expressed support for the initiative, which would require a qualified majority in the Seimas.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 2, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

Lithuania's Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas has expressed support for removing the constitutional ban on deploying weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear arms, on the country's territory, according to TASS. Kaunas noted that NATO, of which Lithuania is a member, possesses nuclear forces "for both defense and deterrence."

"Lithuania is virtually the only NATO country that prohibits nuclear weapons," he said in an interview with Ziniu Radijas. "This prevents us from making full use of the alliance's defense capabilities, which is why I support repealing the relevant article of the Constitution."

The remarks come amid a broader push by Lithuania's top political leaders to strike down the ban, which is enshrined in Article 137 of the country's Constitution.

Coverage Comparison

Reports from TASS highlight the backing of the initiative by President Gitanas Nauseda, Acting Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, designated Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius, Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas, and Speaker of the Seimas Juozas Olekas. The president told reporters after a leadership meeting that "almost all parliamentary faction leaders expressed the view that Article 137 has become obsolete and should not merely be amended but removed."

Earlier in the week, Prime Minister-designate Mindaugas Sinkevicius expressed the same position, citing "considerations of political correctness," TASS reported.

At the end of May, Lithuania's Seimas upheld President Gitanas Nauseda's veto on allowing vessels carrying nuclear weapons to enter the State Seaport of Klaipeda. As the president noted, Article 137 unequivocally prohibits the presence of weapons of mass destruction on the country's territory.

Key Claims

Lithuania's Ministry of National Defense supports removing the constitutional ban on deploying weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear arms, on the country's territory, Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas said.
Kaunas stated that NATO possesses nuclear forces "for both defense and deterrence."
Kaunas argued that Lithuania is "virtually the only NATO country that prohibits nuclear weapons," preventing it from making full use of the alliance's defense capabilities.
Prime Minister-designate Mindaugas Sinkevicius expressed support for removing the ban, citing "considerations of political correctness."
President Gitanas Nauseda and other leaders expressed support for the initiative, with Nauseda noting that "almost all parliamentary faction leaders" consider Article 137 obsolete.
To approve constitutional amendments, the Seimas holds two separate votes at least three months apart, and the change must secure a qualified majority of 94 votes out of 141.

How this outlet told it

TASS — English as of Jul 2, 2026, 11:31 AM UTC

Framing: Lithuania's leaders support removing nuclear weapons ban — Informative

Facts Included:

Lithuania's top leaders support removing the constitutional ban on deploying weapons of mass destruction
President Gitanas Nauseda and other leaders expressed support for the initiative
The change requires a qualified majority of 94 votes out of 141 in the Seimas
Almost all parliamentary faction leaders consider Article 137 obsolete

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of Jul 2, 2026, 2:31 PM UTC

Framing: Lithuania's Defense Ministry supports removing nuclear weapons ban — Informative

Facts Included:

Lithuania's Ministry of National Defense supports removing the constitutional ban on deploying weapons of mass destruction
Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas noted NATO's nuclear forces for defense and deterrence
Lithuania is virtually the only NATO country that prohibits nuclear weapons
Prime Minister-designate Mindaugas Sinkevicius expressed support for removing the ban

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimLithuania's top leaders support removing the constitutional ban on deploying weapons of mass destruction. President Gitanas Nauseda and other leaders expressed support for the initiative.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 2, 2026, 11:31 AM UTC
ClaimThe change requires a qualified majority of 94 votes out of 141 in the Seimas.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 2, 2026, 11:31 AM UTC
ClaimAlmost all parliamentary faction leaders consider Article 137 obsolete.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 2, 2026, 11:31 AM UTC
ClaimLithuania is virtually the only NATO country that prohibits nuclear weapons.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 2, 2026, 2:31 PM UTC
ClaimNATO possesses nuclear forces for defense and deterrence.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 2, 2026, 2:31 PM UTC
ClaimPrime Minister-designate Mindaugas Sinkevicius expressed support for removing the ban, citing 'considerations of political correctness'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 2, 2026, 2:31 PM UTC
ClaimLithuania's Ministry of National Defense supports removing the constitutional ban on deploying weapons of mass destruction.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 2, 2026, 2:31 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: TASS — English 7 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15