The defence minister and the chairman of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence have registered a bill that would exclude people with Russian and Belarusian citizenship from serving in the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
Under the bill, Lithuanians who are also dual citizens of Russia or Belarus would not be accepted into professional military service, volunteer military service or any other form of voluntary non-permanent military service, or mandatory military service. Current servicemen and servicewomen who acquire citizenship from these countries would be dismissed from service.
While the bill does not explicitly mention Russia and Belarus, it says the ban would apply to countries where military personnel are not allowed to travel. The government has previously banned professional military personnel from unauthorised travelling to countries deemed a threat to Lithuania’s national security, specifically Russia, Belarus, and China.
Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas argues the ban is needed to prevent dual citizens from leaking national defence system-related information.
He adds that due to possible links with “hostile states”, such military personnel could also carry out destructive activities against the national defence system and Lithuania on their own initiative.
The proposed amendments are intended to ensure that military personnel with citizenship from “hostile countries” do not become potential targets for foreign intelligence and security services. Moreover, the bill’s authors say it is meant to remove ambiguity about “their constitutional duty to defend Lithuania” in the event of armed conflict with these countries.
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