Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya plans to relocate from Lithuania to neighbouring Poland, well-informed sources told Radio Free Europe, LRT reports. According to the information, Tsikhanouskaya and at least part of her team will move from Vilnius to Warsaw. Earlier, the Lithuanian government downgraded Tsikhanouskaya’s security detail, citing a reassessment of threats. Dzianis Kuchynski, diplomatic…
Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has lodged a formal protest with Belarus over continued “hybrid attacks” and seizure of property of EU citizens and companies, BNS reports. The ministry demanded that Belarus exercise effective control of its airspace and return “unlawfully detained” property, referring to incursions of smuggler balloons into Lithuania and the detention of Lithuanian trucks in…
Germany-based news outlet Politico has named Estonia’s former prime minister, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, as one of Europe’s most influential people in 2025, ERR reports. Politico’s list ranked Kallas as the 16th most influential person in Europe. She is the only person on the list from the Baltic States. The publication labelled Kallas…
The prime ministers of the three Baltic States will meet in the Latvian capital, Riga, on 12 December 2025, BNS reports. The meeting concludes Latvia’s presidency of the Baltic Council of Ministers. Estonia will take over the presidency in 2026. The prime ministers will discuss regional security, including support for Ukraine and strengthening Europe’s eastern…
Latvia’s Ministry of Defence has announced details on its planned spending under the government’s defence budget in 2026, LSM reports. Latvia will spend a total of EUR 2.158bn on defence in 2026, which will be 4.91% of the estimated annual GDP. Altogether EUR 1.14bn (53%) of the defence budget will go to buy new military…
The Lithuanian government has declared a nationwide emergency situation in response to repeated incursions of smuggler balloons from neighbouring Belarus into Lithuanian airspace, BNS reports. At the same time, the government proposed that the parliament, the Seimas, grant the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) extended powers to assist law enforcement for three months. The balloon incursions…
Europe has finally received the message, “loud and clear,” from successive US presidents that Europeans must take responsibility for their own security, Jonatan Vseviov, secretary general of the Estonian Foreign Ministry, said, ERR reports. He insisted that Europe must stand firm behind the principles that have made the current European security order possible — territorial…
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) urges Lithuania to reconsider its policy of turning back irregular migrants at the border with Belarus, BNS reports. Annika Sandlund, UNHCR representative to the Nordic and Baltic countries, said that Lithuania should review its emergency legislation that allows pushbacks. Even though irregular migrants were being used for…
Lithuania may suspend regular passenger services to neighbouring Belarus and Russia, Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic stated, BNS reports. He said that such a measure was “definitely worth considering” in response to growing security threats from Belarus. However, the question was whether the move would have any real impact on the Belarusian regime or instead only…