United States Congress approves $200 million Baltic Security Initiative funding amid Russian activity

Key facts

• The United States Congress approved $200 million in security assistance for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania under the Baltic Security Initiative (BSI) as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 Defense Appropriations Act.
• President Donald Trump signed the $838.7 billion defense package on 3 February 2026, securing continued US backing for the three Baltic states.
• An additional $10 million was allocated to Estonia through the Foreign Military Financing program, previously used by Tallinn to acquire HIMARS ammunition, Javelin missiles and large-caliber artillery shells.
• The House of Representatives passed the Defense Appropriations Act by 217–214 votes and the Senate cleared it with 71–29 votes.
• Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland in September and remained for approximately 12 minutes, prompting Tallinn to request an extraordinary UN Security Council meeting and activate Article 4 of the Atlantic Treaty.
• Congressman Don Bacon, Republican-Nebraska and co-chair of the House Baltic Caucus, stated that Congress is committed to a strong NATO alliance and emphasised the need for friends to counter China, Russia and Iran.