In Lithuania, the defense minister resigned after a dispute over military spending

Shakaliene said on her Facebook page that she and Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who represents the same Social Democratic Party (LSDP), have “fundamentally different ideas on how to strengthen defense.”

Ruginiene called the resignation “inevitable”, stressing that she could not accept the fact that “misunderstandings and problems arise in such an important area as defence”.

According to media reports, the row erupted after the minister and prime minister attended a meeting with defense analysts last week, after which some participants said they no longer expected the government to keep its pledge to spend five percent of GDP on defense.

The draft state budget for 2026 includes 4.8 billion euros for defense, or 5.4 percent of GDP. Instead, Shakaliene insists that it should be at least 5.5%.

On Wednesday, the prime minister, quoted by the Baltic news agency BNS, expressed her determination to work to ensure that the defense budget “continues to grow.”