US approves Javelin missile sale to Lithuania amid Russia tensions
A look back at a State Department decision to supply anti-tank weapons to a NATO ally as relations with Moscow worsened.
What did Washington decide for Lithuania on 21 December 2021? The U.S. State Department approved the sale of 341 FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided missiles and 30 command launch units to the NATO ally.
The approval came amid rising tensions with Russia. The package pairs the missiles with the launch units used to fire them, and it was directed at a NATO member state in the Baltic region.
The decision was reported against the backdrop of the strained relationship between the United States and NATO on one side and Russia on the other. Some scholars and journalists have used terms such as Second Cold War, or New Cold War, to describe heightened geopolitical tensions of that kind in the 21st century, though others have discouraged applying such labels to ongoing tensions.
The sale concerned the bilateral relationship between Lithuania and the United States, and it was listed among the day's developments in that context.
