Baltic: EU, Baltic leaders blame Russia for drone incidents
Recent drone incidents in the Baltic States are part of Russia’s strategy to destabilise democratic…
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Welcome to Via Baltica, your “information superhighway” for news from the three Baltic tigers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania! Our founder and editor-in-chief is Kerkko Paananen, senior news analyst with more than two decades of professional expertise in covering and reporting on current affairs in the Baltic States. We aim to do one thing well:…
Baltic: EU, Baltic leaders blame Russia for drone incidents
Recent drone incidents in the Baltic States are part of Russia’s strategy to destabilise democratic societies in the region, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated, BNS reports. Speaking after a meeting with Baltic presidents in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, von der Leyen stressed the need for EU unity in support of the three…
Lithuania: Military to buy nearly 1,000 armoured vehicles from Finland
Lithuania’s State Defence Council (VGT) has approved a decision to buy 936 armoured vehicles from the Finnish defence group, Patria, BNS reports. President Gitanas Nauseda said that Lithuania expected that 300 of the vehicles would be delivered by 2030. He added that part of the production process would take place in Lithuania. A Patria representative…
Latvia: Riga Airport’s revenue, profit up in 2025
Latvia’s Riga International Airport (RIX) posted an audited profit of EUR 4.2mn in 2025, which was up EUR 0.8mn from 2024, The Baltic Times reported. The airport’s annual net turnover totalled EUR 80.7mn, which was up 3.9% over a year. Revenue from aviation services amounted to EUR 47.3mn (up 5.4%) and from non-aviation services to…
Estonia: Fatherland still on top in May 2026 poll
Estonia’s national-conservative opposition party, Fatherland, had 26.7% support in Norstat’s poll conducted in May 2026, ERR reports. The opposition Estonian Centre Party came in second with 21.7%, followed by two other opposition parties — the Social Democratic Party with 14.3% and the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia with 13.7%. Support for the ruling Estonian Reform…
Baltic: NATO to assign more forces to defend Baltics
NATO plans to assign additional forces to defend the Baltic States, Reuters reports. Military sources revealed that Germany and the Netherlands had agreed to assign the 1 German-Netherlands Corps (1GNC), based in the German city of Münster, to the defence of Estonia and Latvia. The move would facilitate the rapid deployment of forces into the…
Lithuania: State security warns against Belarus fertiliser transit
Lithuania’s State Security Department (VSD) has warned against proposals to resume transit shipments of Belarusian fertilisers through the port of Klaipeda, BNS reports. VSD director Remigijus Bridikis noted that such a move would contravene EU sanctions without reducing security threats posed by Belarus. He stressed that the Belarusian regime had not changed its policies of…
Latvia: Hospital officials suspected of defrauding EU funds
Latvia’s Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has searched three hospitals in Riga and Valmiera in a case involving suspected fraud of EU and state budget funds, LSM reports. KNAB carried out searches in more than 17 locations across Latvia, including at the Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital (PSKUS) and the Traumatology and Orthopaedics Hospital…
Estonia: Narva city council leaders under criminal investigation
Estonia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has opened a criminal investigation of the leadership of the Narva city council over suspected embezzlement, ERR reports. The investigation is looking at possibly illegal payouts to the chairman of the city council, Mihhail Stalnuhhin, and his deputy, Jana Kondrasova. Earlier, city councillors Aleksei Jevgrafov and Jaan Toots of the Estonian…
Latvia: Incoming PM names ministers in new government
Latvia’s prime minister nominee, MP Andris Kulbergs of the opposition party alliance, United List, has announced the composition of his incoming four-party coalition government, LSM reports. The Kulbergs cabinet would have 14 male and just 2 female ministers. The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, will vote on approving the government on 28 May 2026. Besides Kulbergs…