Lithuania exits cluster munition ban due to concerns over Russia

Lithuania officially withdrew from the international convention on cluster munitions on Thursday due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

More than 120 countries have signed the convention, which prohibits the acquisition, use and production of the weapons.

The parliament in Vilnius decided in July to withdraw from the agreement, which Lithuania joined in 2008.

Defence Minister Dovile Šakalienė said the withdrawal was not just about the type of weapons Lithuania plans to buy.

Speaking on Lithuanian radio, she said it was also about sending a "strategic message" that Lithuania was prepared to "use absolutely everything" if necessary.

Cluster munitions are missiles and bombs that burst in the air above their target, scattering many small explosive devices. They are controversial mainly because a significant proportion of them fail to detonate and land on the ground as duds, where they endanger civilians.

However, the government in Vilnius views cluster munitions as a highly effective defence measure. It also notes that, apart from Norway, no state sharing a border with Russia has signed the cluster munitions convention.

Lithuania borders the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad and Russia's ally Belarus, neither of which have joined the cluster munitions convention.

The war in Ukraine is seen as a direct threat to national security in the Baltic state.