Senators urge Hegseth, Rubio to release funding for Baltic Security Initiative

Senators urge Hegseth, Rubio to release funding for Baltic Security Initiative

A bipartisan group of senators are urging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to release the remaining congressional-approved funds for the Baltic Security Initiative (BSI), citing intensified Russian aggression in the region.

“Since 2021, the BSI has enhanced the defense capabilities and interoperability of our Baltic allies. We urge you to ensure the swift obligation of this funding and execution of programs considering intensified Russian aggression in the region against key frontline allies,” 10 senators, including three Republicans, wrote in a letter on Thursday.

BSI is a Pentagon-led security cooperation program formed in 2021 to bolster the defense capabilities of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia against threats in the region, namely Russia.

In the letter, senators cited the recent Russian airspace incursions into NATO territory , gray-zone warfare tactics and other actions as evidence for accelerating the delivery of assistance under BSI being a “priority.”

The Pentagon said in the second update in September that BSI was “ prioritized ” for notification and in its “final stages of coordination,” including with the State Department.

“While this is important progress, escalating Russian threats , specifically against the Baltic States, demand more urgent U.S. security assistance,” senators said in the letter.

The lawmakers pressed for the disbursement by the end of the calendar year and asked the State Department and the Pentagon for an update by Nov. 19 this year .

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