Baltic states ask U.S. congress to uphold military support

Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian legislators said Thursday they have asked the U.S.

Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian legislators said Thursday they have asked the U.S. Congress to uphold military support under the Baltic Security Initiative program, which the White House is due to propose to cut.

“We kindly ask you to support the funding of the Baltic Security Initiative in the fiscal year 2026 Defense Appropriations Bill and its authorization in the National Defense Appropriation Act,” a joint letter from the three Baltic parliaments said.

The Department of Defense informed European countries last week that military support under a program known as Section 333 will be cut to zero from the next fiscal year, a Lithuanian defense ministry official said.

The joint letter comes a day after Poland said it shot down a number of Russian drones that violated its airspace during an attack on Ukraine.

The suggestion that the United States will phase out some security assistance for European countries near the border with Russia raised concerns among key recipients such as Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia — former Soviet republics now in NATO and the European Union.