Lithuania expands military draft as European recruitment drives face public resistance<\/p>\n
Lithuania will introduce universal male conscription despite public resistance to compulsory military service, the country\u2019s government has announced.
\nThe Baltic state reinstated selective conscription in 2015, seven years after abolishing it. Under the new plan, the draft would be extended to all eligible men, while women would continue to serve voluntarily.
\nAnnual recruitment will increase from just over 5,000 to around 7,500 men, President Gitanas Nauseda announced on Thursday following a State Defense Council meeting.
\nPrime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius described universal conscription as \u201cnecessary and inevitable.\u201d
\nThe decision follows similar recruitment pushes elsewhere in Europe. Poland is considering restoring compulsory service, which was abolished in 2009, and introducing a system covering both men and women. A recent poll, however, found that 53% of Poles aged 18\u201324 opposed reinstatement of the draft.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Poland considers reinstating conscription<\/p>\n
Germany has already introduced mandatory military registration for 18-year-old men. Enlistment remains voluntary, but parliament can activate compulsory service if recruitment falls short or the security situation deteriorates.
\nBerlin\u2019s recruitment drive has met resistance, with some 45,000 people joining student protests across roughly 100 German cities and towns in September, with some carrying banners reading \u201cWe won\u2019t fight in your wars\u201d and \u201cRussia is not our enemy.\u201d
\nApplications for conscientious objector status reached over 12,000 between January and August, compared with 3,879 throughout 2025, according to figures reported by German media.
\nEuropean officials have nevertheless continued discussing preparations for a possible war with Russia by the end of the decade. Estonian Defense Minister Martin Herem \u201cjoked\u201d last month that if Estonia mobilized and Russia did not attack, it would be \u201ceconomically more correct to attack ourselves\u201d rather than keep troops waiting.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Objections to conscription triple in Germany \u2013 media<\/p>\n
Moscow has repeatedly stated that it has neither reason nor intention to attack NATO countries, describing such allegations as \u201chorror stories\u201d intended to prepare European populations for further militarization.
\nRussian officials have warned that Europe\u2019s military buildup could itself lead to confrontation and that expanding NATO infrastructure near Russia\u2019s borders would prompt additional security measures. Moscow has stressed that it is prepared to defend itself if attacked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lithuania expands military draft as European recruitment drives face public resistance Lithuania will introduce universal male conscription despite public resistance to compulsory military service, the country\u2019s government has announced. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40780,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t