Lithuanian president dismisses Defense Minister Sakaliene

VILNIUS - Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has dismissed Dovile Sakaliene as defense minister, the president's office said on Wednesday.

"Acting in accordance with the Constitution and following a proposal from Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, President Gitanas Nauseda signed a decree dismissing Dovile Sakaliene from the post of defense minister," the office said in a press release.

Under the decree, which takes effect on Thursday, Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic will serve as acting defense minister.

As reported by BNS, Sakaliene said on Tuesday that she had drafted a resignation letter, but the president asked her not to make a final decision until he had spoken with the prime minister.

The Social Democrat said she had decided to leave the Defense Ministry because Prime Minister Ruginiene and party chairman Mindaugas Sinkevicius no longer had confidence in her.

After meeting with Nauseda on Wednesday morning, Ruginiene said she herself was initiating Sakaliene's dismissal without having received a resignation letter from the minister.

The prime minister first spoke about her shaken confidence in Sakaliene after last week's informal briefing at the Defense Ministry for analysts and opinion leaders, who later claimed that the government did not intend to honor its pledge to allocate 5 percent of GDP to defense.

However, the draft 2026 state budget later released to the public earmarks 4.79 billion euros, or 5.38 percent of GDP, for defense.

In recent days, media reports have also cited anonymous former Defense Ministry employees alleging that the minister had mistreated subordinates.

Still, Ruginiene said the decision to dismiss Sakaliene had been brewing for some time, adding that she learned more about the situation at the ministry only after taking office about a month ago.