Lithuania's Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas reacted calmly to the Kremlin's announcement that it was moving nuclear weapons to neighbouring Belarus.
With this move, Russian President Vladimir Putin is aiming to intimidate countries that support Ukraine, Anušauskas wrote on Facebook on Sunday. According to the minister, there should be no special reaction to the Russian plans.
"The defence of a NATO country against the threat of nuclear weapons is guaranteed, regardless of whether these weapons are stationed west of our borders (Kaliningrad Oblast), east (Belarus) or north (Leningrad Oblast)," Anusauskas wrote.
Lithuania borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad as well as Russia's ally Belarus.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced on Saturday evening that Russia and Belarus had agreed on the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons.
This only shows Putin's fears of a reinforcement of NATO forces on its eastern flank in response to his war against Ukraine, Anušauskas wrote.
