Lithuania dismisses defense minister from her post

Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginene has announced her intention to dismiss Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalena. She announced this after a meeting with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda , Lithuanian TV channel LRT.

Interior Minister Vladyslav Kondratovych will temporarily act as Defense Minister.

According to LRT, the disagreement between the defense minister and the prime minister arose after an informal meeting with opinion leaders at the Defense Ministry on October 14, where information was presented that defense funding in 2026 would amount to only 4.87% of GDP.

Subsequently, on October 15, Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene announced that 5.38% of GDP would be allocated for defense in 2026, amounting to €4.79 billion.

Shakalen is accused of manipulating the opinion of civil society leaders to put pressure on the government to increase defense funding.

"Today I announced that I am submitting a proposal to the President to resign the Minister of Defense. This was stated verbally, and soon after that I will submit a written proposal," the Prime Minister told reporters at the Presidential Palace .

Lithuanian PM accuses Defense Minister of lying and "complete unwillingness" to cooperate.

"When the Prime Minister raises questions, ranging from procurement and spending money to other issues, the Ministry must answer them. If the ministry does not answer, does not cooperate, I have no idea how we can work as a team. This is not teamwork," the Prime Minister said .

In addition, when deciding to initiate the dismissal, she assessed how well Shakaleno was coping with his leadership responsibilities, as the media recently reported on anonymous former defense officials who spoke about the minister's inappropriate behavior with his subordinates.

Ruginenė emphasized that she was submitting the motion to dismiss Shakalene on her own, as she had not received a resignation letter from the Minister of Defense.

The day before, on October 21, Defense Minister Dovile Shakalene said she planned to resign.

on October 22, she informed that at 10:00 a.m. she submitted her resignation.

"I don't see the possibility of working in an environment where there is no trust," she wrote.

According to the President's advisor, Davydas Matulionis, the defense budget is an "absolute priority" for both the President and the Prime Minister, as the deployment of a German brigade in Lithuania and the presence of Americans in the country depend on it.

• on September 29, the commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces said that the country would not be able to protect 100% of its airspace from drones.
• On October 8, Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said that Lithuania considers the continued presence of US troops in the country more important than financial support from the US, than financial assistance from the United States.
• On October 10, it became known that the Baltic states are preparing a mass evacuation in case of a Russian attack.
• On October 13, Lithuania launched new military exercises that will take place on the Curonian Spit and the Gulf, near the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation.