Lithuania: Ministers note increased Russian aggression
Russia may have targeted Lithuania’s embassy in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, in a missile attack on…
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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:…
Lithuania: Ministers note increased Russian aggression
Russia may have targeted Lithuania’s embassy in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, in a missile attack on 1 August 2026, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys stated, LRT reports. He said that Lithuania could not rule out the possibility that the attack, which damaged the embassy, was deliberate, pointing out that there were almost no strategic facilities near…
Latvia: Belarus border not to be closed for now
Latvia will not close its border with Belarus for now, the Latvian government announced, LSM reports. The border checkpoint in Patarnieki, Latvia’s only remaining land border crossing with Belarus, was closed for “technical reasons” on 31 July 2026. As a result, hundreds of trucks are stuck at the border crossing, LSM reports. The Ministry of…
Estonia: Justice Chancellor ready to run for president
Estonia’s Chancellor of Justice, Ülle Madise, has expressed her willingness to run for president, provided there is “broad-based support” for her candidacy, Õnne Pillak, leader of the ruling Estonian Reform Party’s parliamentary group, announced, ERR reports. Pillak reaffirmed Reform’s support for Madise’s candidacy and urged other party leaders to state their preference before the upcoming…
Lithuania: Foreign Ministry working on ties with China, Taiwan
Lithuania is making progress towards normalising relations with communist China, Juozas Olekas, speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, said, BNS reports. Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said that Lithuania’s position on China remained unchanged, stressing the need for a unified European approach as part of the EU’s common foreign and security policy. He warned that…
Latvia: Government orders review of NGO funding
The Latvian government has asked the State Chancellery to conduct a comprehensive analysis of state funding for non-governmental organisations (NGOs), LETA reports. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs alleged that NGOs were wasting taxpayer money, LSM reported. He suggested that state funding for NGOs created a conflict of interest, insisting that NGOs should not depend on state…
Estonia: Inflation to fall below 4% in 2026: Finance Ministry
Estonia’s annual inflation may drop below 4% in 2026, the Ministry of Finance forecasts, ERR reports. Kristjan Pungas, economic analyst at the ministry’s fiscal policy department, linked the projection to the easing of the conflict in the Middle East. He noted that Estonia’s inflation rate was one of the lowest in the eurozone in June…
Baltic: Over quarter cannot afford one-week holiday travel
Over a quarter of people in the Baltic States could not afford one week of annual holiday travel away from home in 2025, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. In Lithuania, 30.9% of residents could not afford one week of holiday travel in 2025, which was down from 32.2% in 2024. The corresponding share was…
Lithuania: University to review PM’s dissertation for plagiarism
Lithuania’s ISM University of Management and Economics will investigate a possible violation of academic ethics by Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius, BNS reports. ISM’s ethics committee will review a complaint regarding alleged plagiarism in Sinkevicius’s doctoral dissertation, which he defended in 2015. Sinkevicius has rejected the allegations, BNS reported. He suggested that the interest in his…
Latvia: United List takes lead in July 2026 poll
Latvia’s United List alliance has become the country’s most popular political group, according to a new SKDS poll for LTV conducted in July 2026, LSM reports. Support for United List stood at 12.2%, which was up from 9.8% in the previous poll in June 2026. The non-parliamentary electoral alliance of Sovereign Power and Alliance of…