US senators have called on Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to release the remaining funds allocated by Congress to the Baltic Security Initiative (BSI), citing increasing Russian aggression in the region.
“Since 2021, the BSI has strengthened the defence capabilities and cooperation of our Baltic allies. We urge you to ensure the swift allocation of these funds and the implementation of programmes addressing Russia’s growing aggression against frontline allies in the region,” stated a letter signed on Thursday by ten senators from both political parties.
The Baltic Security Initiative is a Pentagon-led programme launched in 2021 to strengthen the defence capabilities of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
In their letter, the senators pointed to recent violations of NATO airspace by Russia, Moscow’s use of hybrid warfare tactics and other activities as evidence that accelerating security assistance to the Baltic states should be a priority.
In September, the Pentagon announced that the Baltic Security Initiative had been designated a priority
and that the funding process was in its final stages of coordination with the State Department.
“While this represents important progress, the escalation of Russian threats against the Baltic states demands that US security assistance be accelerated,” the senators emphasised in their letter.
The senators are calling for the remaining funds to be allocated by the end of the calendar year.
They have also requested that the State Department and the Pentagon provide a report on the matter by the 19th of November.