Lithuania will have 15,500 professional military personnel and 50,000 soldiers in the active reserve by 2030 under the Defence Ministry’s new plan, BNS reports. Currently, Lithuania has 13,500 professional soldiers in service. Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas said that the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) would form a new infrantry division in phases by 2030. The division…
Estonia’s former president, Kersti Kaljulaid, has decided to run for president of the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOK), BNS reports. Kaljulaid said that 25 EOK members had nominated her to the position. She said that the members had welcomed her ideas about the future of the organisation and Estonian sports. The deadline for candidate nominations is…
The Lithuanian Migration Department (LMD) denied residence to almost 36,000 foreigners in the first eight months of 2024 after the introduction of tighter rules on immigration, according to the Ministry of Interior, BNS reports. LMD received altogether 67,175 residence permit applications. The number of applications to work in Lithuania from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and…
Symbols supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine have appeared on a number of properties in Lithuania’s port city of Klaipeda, according to local police, BNS reports. The letter Z was painted on three cars, on doors, walls, and windows of several buildings, on billboards, and on a church bell. The display of Russian war symbols is…
Some Lithuanian nationals have joined Russian occupation forces in Ukraine, LRT reports. At least five Lithuanian citizens are known to be fighting for Russia against Ukraine, 15min reports. Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas confirmed that there was “definitely more than one” Lithuanian fighting on the Russian side. He said that the persons were known to Lithuania’s…
Lithuanian authorities have developed a plan to protect the country’s cultural heritage in the event of war, BNS reports. The National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) presented the plan to the culture committee of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, in a closed meeting. NKVC director Vilmantas Vitkauskas said that the plan would be tested during a…
Latvia’s Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has failed to find evidence to support allegations that opposition MP Ainars Slesers had received money from Russian President Vladimir Putin, BNS reports. KNAB started the investigation in October 2022 after Dmitry Muratov, editor of Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, alleged that Putin had paid money to several Western…
Police in Lithuania have recorded several acts of vandalism targeting Belarusians living in Vilnius recently, BNS reports. A message, “No place for Belarusian parasites here,” was painted in red on the street outside the Dapamoga refugee shelter. Also, windows of a Belarusian museum and a chapel where Belarusians usually pray were smashed. Belarusian opposition leader…
Lithuania’s Vilnius Regional Court has told the prosecutor to ask the European Parliament to strip MEP Petras Grazulis of his parliamentary immunity, BNS reports. Earlier, Grazulis was charged with expressing contempt for members of the LGBT community. The case was put on hold after he was elected MEP. In May 2022, after the Lithuanian parliament,…