Russian State Outlet Deletes Op-Ed Threatening Nuclear Strike on Lithuania

Retracted Russian op-ed

On Friday morning, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti published an opinion piece titled "Another special military operation awaits Russia. It will be very short." The article, written by freelance commentator and RuBaltic.ru editor-in-chief Aleksandr Nosovich, argued that a military confrontation with Baltic states would proceed rapidly due to regional geography. Nosovich asserted that Moscow could rely entirely on missile strikes rather than deploying ground forces.

“Since our opponents are the first to move the conversation to the plane of the nuclear threat, Russia can even afford to forgo deploying ground troops. Missiles equipped with the appropriate warhead would suffice.”

RIA Novosti removed the article within hours of publication. The agency issued a statement explaining that the submission did not reflect the editorial stance of the newsroom or the state policy of the Russian Federation.

Seimas moves on constitutional ban

The retracted column followed a preliminary vote in the Lithuanian Seimas on Tuesday. Lawmakers supported an amendment to remove Article 137 of the constitution, which prohibits the deployment of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear warheads, and the establishment of foreign military bases. The motion passed with 99 votes in favor, 13 against, and 5 abstentions, with a binding second vote scheduled for the first half of January.

In favor99

Against13

Abstain5

In favor

99 votes

Against

13 votes

Abstain

5 votes

Data from the article text

Lithuania is expanding foreign troop deployments, with two rotational US battalions scheduled to arrive in late October for nine months, according to Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas. Polish Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Zalewski stated that Warsaw does not seek nuclear warheads on Polish soil, following talks with US policy officials. Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius told the BBC that the country stands ready to defend itself against regional threats, including drone incursions and provocations along the Belarusian border.

“If our country is attacked, we will take up the fight... we will engage.”

Cross-border evacuation and mobilization drills

On Friday, Lithuania began its annual mobilization exercise, involving approximately 3,000 state officials, institutional representatives, and 1,000 volunteers across multiple scenarios through 2 October. The National Crisis Management Center (NKVC) announced that Lithuanian and Polish authorities are drafting a joint evacuation plan for residents of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia through the Suwałki Gap. A 20-person Polish delegation is participating in the exercise to assess logistics and infrastructure capacity.

“The Suwałki Gap is of enormous importance both militarily and logistically, and the involvement of our Polish colleagues is extremely important.”

Regional intelligence assessments

The tension coincides with assessments from European intelligence and research organizations regarding non-conventional Russian threats. On 24 September, Denmark's Defense Intelligence Service stated that Russia could conduct limited military or hybrid actions against neighboring NATO members in the coming months, though full-scale conventional invasion capacity remains constrained by the war in Ukraine. An analysis published on 21 September by the Institute for the Study of War outlined potential hybrid scenarios, such as proxy unrest in border areas like Narva, Estonia, designed to test NATO collective defense commitments.