Lithuania Bans Recruitment of Belarusians, Russians, and Chinese into the Army
The Lithuanian Seimas has introduced a ban on the admission of dual citizens residing in the country to military service.
But the taboo is imposed only on those foreigners whose second citizenship is Russian, Belarusian or Chinese.
Also, such citizens are now prohibited from being accepted into the Lithuanian Volunteer Riflemen's Union, which is a structural subdivision of the Ministry of Defense.
In fact, the latter was the initiator of the introduction of the above-mentioned ban, supported by parliament, writes TASS.
If a person has citizenship of an unfriendly state that threatens the national security of our country, he should not be accepted into military service, Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas said earlier.
It should be noted that in January 2024, the government of the Baltic state added Belarus, Russia and China to the list of unfriendly states.
Currently, according to official data, the number of Lithuanian army personnel is approximately 20,000.
The Lithuanian Riflemen's Union has about 16,000 members - the largest number in the entire history of the organization, which has existed for more than a century.
In the last year and a half alone, the Riflemen's Union has been replenished with approximately two thousand volunteers.
This Union was created in 1919 to provide support to the regular Lithuanian army.
In 1940 the organization was abolished, but in 1989 it was recreated.
Civilians join the Union (on a voluntary basis).
The organization conducts its own exercises and also participates in joint exercises with the Armed Forces.
