Lithuania’s Nauseda says leaders agree to remove constitutional ban on deploying nuclear weapons

According to CNBC, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said Thursday that the country’s top political leaders agreed to remove a constitutional ban on the domestic deployment of nuclear weapons, calling Article 137 “outdated” and saying parliamentary and government leaders were “practically unanimous” in backing removal rather than amendment. Nauseda said there were no immediate plans to store nuclear weapons in Lithuania; Article 137 also prohibits the deployment of weapons of mass destruction and the establishment of foreign military bases on Lithuanian territory. Separately, CNBC reported that Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack against Ukraine on Thursday, and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 13 people were killed in the capital, with July 3 declared a day of mourning; Finland temporarily imposed an aviation restriction zone in the eastern Gulf of the country and Poland scrambled fighter jets.