Lithuania and Finland have begun changing legal restrictions related to the possible deployment of nuclear weapons on their territory. As Novye Izvestia notes, these steps effectively open the way to legalizing the storage and transit of weapons of mass destruction in countries bordering Russia.

In Finland, the relevant changes have already been formalized. President Alexander Stubb signed amendments to the Atomic Energy Act allowing the storage and transit of nuclear warheads. The law entered into force on July 1.

In Lithuania, a similar initiative is being promoted by the new prime minister, Mindaugas Sinkevicius. He proposed removing from the country’s basic law the article that bans the deployment of such weapons. Analysts view this step as a continuation of the militarization of Eastern Europe.

Experts warn that the appearance of a nuclear arsenal near Russia’s borders would reduce flight time and sharply narrow the window for response. This was pointed out by Ruslan Pankratov, a research fellow at the Institute of CIS Countries.

At the same time, political analysts believe that the statements from Vilnius and Helsinki may also be aimed at domestic audiences and linked to the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara. The United States has not yet confirmed its readiness to deploy nuclear warheads in Lithuania or Finland.

Moscow, however, has already stated that even the theoretical possibility of an American nuclear arsenal appearing near Russia’s northern and western borders will be taken into account in military planning.

Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, reacted sharply to the removal of restrictions. In his assessment, after such decisions Finland is effectively turning into a target for Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces. On X, he also said ironically that Finland had thereby reached the «peak of security.»