Latvia has reopened the border crossing in Patarnieki on the border with Belarus, the State Border Guard (VRS) announced, LETA reports. Earlier, the government decided not to approve the Interior Ministry’s proposal to close down the checkpoint, which is the only road border crossing that remains open on Latvia’s border with Belarus. However, Prime Minister…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
Türkiye’s Turkish Air Force (THK) has deployed some 80 troops and five F-16 fighter jets for the first time to Estonia’s Ämari air base as part of NATO’s Baltic air defence mission, ERR reports. THK replaced the Portuguese Air Force to patrol Baltic airspace until November 2026. Meanwhile, Italian Air Force has taken over responsibility…
The director of Latvia’s Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB), Jekabs Straume, has announced his early retirement, effective immediately, LSM reports. Speaking in an interview with LTV, Straume said that he was retiring because he had turned 50. Straume led KNAB since June 2017 and was appointed for a second five-year term in June 2022….
Italy has taken over NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, replacing French and Romanian forces, BNS reports. Italy will deploy an air defence contingent of around 200 personnel with four Eurofighter Typhoon (EF-2000) fighter jets to the Siauliai air base in northern Lithuania. The outgoing French and Romanian detachments consisted of about 210 troops with four…
