Lithuania has completed the first phase of procuring joint light tactical vehicles (JLTVs) manufactured by the US defence contractor, Oshkosh Defense, BNS reports. The final batch of 50 JLTVs, part of a 2019 contract for 200 vehicles, recently arrived in Lithuania ahead of schedule. The first 50 JLTVs were delivered in 2021, followed by additional…
Lithuania plans to call up reserve troops up to the age of 60 for training in response to the deteriorating regional security situation, BNS reports. The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, has given initial approval for the initiative. The plan includes calling up around 80,000 reserve troops who served more than ten years ago. These individuals…
The opposition Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP) remained the country’s most popular political party in October 2023, according to a new Vilmorus poll, BNS reports. LSDP topped the poll with 18.0% support, which was down from 18.8% in September 2023. The ruling Homeland Union (TS-LKD) came in second with 9.3% (11.3%), followed by two…
Lithuania’s real GDP totalled EUR 53.2bn at current prices in the first nine months of 2023, which was down 0.5% from the same period of 2022, according to the State Data Agency’s first estimate, BNS reports. In the third quarter of 2023, the GDP totalled EUR 19.2bn, which was up 0.1% from a year earlier….
Russia’s Ministry of Interior has placed Kamile Seraite, member of the city council of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, on its wanted list, BNS reports, citing Russian independent media outlet Mediazona. Seraite has campaigned for the removal of Soviet-era monuments and street names in Vilnius. She chairs the city’s Historical Memory Commission, which is in charge…
The Lithuanian Education Employees Trade Union (LSDPS) started a teacher strike on 29 September 2023, LRT reports. The union expects around 3,000 teachers to join the strike. LSDPS chairman Andrius Navickas said that the strike could last about a month. Teachers will march on Vilnius and will hold a picket in front of the government…
Lithuanian footballers will not play against Russian teams, the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) stated, BNS reports. Earlier, the UEFA Executive Committee decided to readmit Russian youth teams to international competitions, while adult teams would remain disqualified until the end of the war in Ukraine. LFF president Edgaras Stankevicius said that the UEFA decision was “unexpected.”…
Regional branches of Lithuania’s ruling Homeland Union (TS-LKD) have proposed their preferred candidates for president in the upcoming elections in May 2024, BNS reports. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte was the favourite with 66 nominations, followed by Foreign Minister and TS-LKD chairman Gabrielius Landsbergis with 64 and Labour and Social Security Minister Monika Navickiene with 62….
The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, has passed a resolution calling on NATO to invite Ukraine as a new member at the defence alliance’s next summit in Washington in July 2024, BNS reports. The unanimous resolution noted that Ukraine was a provider of security that would strengthen NATO. The MPs pointed out that having Ukraine as…