The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, has approved in first reading a constitutional amendment that would abolish a ban on weapons of mass destruction, BNS reports. The amendment would allow deploying nuclear weapons on Lithuanian territory. Parliamentary speaker Juozas Olekas argued that removing the ban would strengthen Lithuania’s resilience and deterrence. Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said…
Latvia’s Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has opened an administrative inquiry into financial gifts that Julija Stepanenko, leader of the pro-Russian opposition party, Sovereign Power, received from her father, Russian businessman Sergey Fedotov, Baltic News Network reports. Earlier, Stepanenko declared having received EUR 420,000 in gifts from her father, whose company has supplied equipment…
The Lithuanian government has approved the draft state budget for 2027, BNS reports. Budget revenue, including EU funds, is expected at nearly EUR 22.2bn, which would be up 5.2% from 2026, BNS reports. Budget spending will total EUR 27.9bn, up 1.3% over a year. The State Social Insurance Fund’s (SoDra) revenue is projected at nearly…
The Estonian rare earths processor, NPM Silmet, plans to stop using raw materials from Russia’s state-owned Solikamsk Magnesium Works (SMZ) by the end of 2026, ERR reports. NPM Silmet said that it would have to reduce production at its plant in Sillamäe as a result. The company is still waiting for a final shipment from…
Estonia’s new president, Ülle Madise, made her first working visits in office to neighbouring Latvia and Finland, BNS reported. In her meetings with the Latvian and Finnish presidents, she discussed defence and regional security, energy and transport connections, protection of critical infrastructure, support for Ukraine, Nordic-Baltic cooperation, and transatlantic relations. At a joint press conference…
Baltic leaders criticised the US-Russian agreement on Russian diesel fuel supplies. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said that the agreement was a “major miscalculation,” warning that “deals with dictators are a road to hell,” ERR reported. He insisted that Russian revenues must be stopped and urged the EU to help Ukraine “blast Russia’s oil refineries…
Estonia’s former chancellor of justice, Ülle Madise, was sworn in as the country’s new president in the parliament, the Riigikogu, on 12 October 2026, ERR reports. She was elected to the office by the 101-member parliament with 71 votes on 2 September 2026. In her first speech as president, Madise noted that past attempts to…
Lithuania’s Interior Minister, Martynas Katelynas, has asked Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas to deploy troops to the country’s border with Russia’s Kaliningrad region, BNS reports. Katelynas said that the troop deployment was a preventive measure in response to an armed incident on Latvia’s border with Belarus. Speaking in an interview with Die Welt, Prime Minister Mindaugas…
Armed men attempted to push a group of at least 20 migrants to cross the border from Belarus into Latvia illegally on 5 October 2026, according to the Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS), LETA reported. NBS soldiers prevented the attempt, which it said was particularly demonstrative and aggressive. During the incident, the masked armed men…
