The Baltic States are interested in hosting US military aircraft capable of carrying out nuclear strikes, LETA reports. Sources told the Financial Times that the US was considering the possibility of stationing nuclear-capable bombers in more NATO countries in Europe. According to the sources, countries on NATO’s eastern flank, including Poland and some Baltic States,…
The Baltic States will procure up to 20 regional trains for the Rail Baltica railway, ERR reports. Estonia will buy 5-7 trains, Latvia up to 5 trains, and Lithuania up to 8 trains, which will operate on domestic routes only, at least initially. The trains will have around 200 seats and will run at maximum…
Latvians and Lithuanians work longer hours than Estonians, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. The average working hours for employed persons in both Latvia and Lithuania stood at 38.3 hours per week in 2024, compared to just 36.5 hours in Estonia. The EU average was 36.0 hours. For employees, average working hours were 38.6 hours…
Baltic transport ministers have discussed Lithuania’s proposal to stop seasonal time changes, LSM reports. Latvia’s outgoing Transport Minister, Atis Svinka, said that the Baltic ministers conceptually supported a transition to permanent summer time. He stressed that the Baltic States needed to have a unified position on the question, pointing to the example of the Estonian-Latvian…
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…
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…
Latvia’s population has dropped at the highest rate in the entire EU over the last 20 years, according to Eurostat, LSM reported. Latvia’s population declined by 17% in 2005-2025. Meanwhile, Lithuania’s population decreased by 14%, whereas Estonia’s population only declined by 1% over the same period. The population totalled 2.89 million people in Lithuania, 1.86…
Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers condemned Russian threats to attack the Baltic States amid Ukrainian drone strikes, Reuters reported. Earlier, Russia claimed that Ukraine was using NATO airspace as cover for drone attacks on Russian targets. In a joint statement, the NB8 foreign ministers rejected “Russia’s blatant disinformation campaign and false claims, supported by Belarus,…
NATO has the means to destroy air defence and missile bases in Russia’s Kaliningrad region, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys stated, BNS reported. Speaking in an interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Budrys said that “we must show the Russians that we can penetrate the little fortress they have built in Kaliningrad,” LETA reported. Also, he…