Lithuania is deploying permanent counter-mobility measures on parts of its border with Russia’s Kaliningrad (Königsberg) region, LRT reports. The installations include barriers on the Queen Louise Bridge separating Panemune in Lithuania and Sovetsk on the Russian side to stop the movement of hostile vehicles. Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas said that the government planned to spend…
Latvia will host an international “drone summit” in the beginning of 2025, Defence Minister Andris Spruds announced, LSM reports. He said that the summit would promote the creation of secure supply chains for drone components and the production of drone systems in NATO member states. The cooperation was aimed at ensuring targeted deliveries of unmanned…
Ukraine should have the right to strike Russian air bases to “eliminate the sources of attacks and save lives,” Estonia’s Defence Minister, Hanno Pevkur, stated, ERR reports. He pointed to Russia’s continued attacks on residential buildings and critical infrastructure. Ukraine knows where the strikes are coming from, Pevkur noted. He reiterated Estonia’s position that the…
The General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania (LKA) has opened an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) competence centre, Militarnyi reports. Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas said that the drone competence centre would teach how to fly drones and gain both theoretical and practical knowledge. LKA will organise both stationary courses in Vilnius and field courses in…
Lithuania will sign an agreement with Germany on the stationing of a German brigade in the country on 13 September 2024, Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas announced, dpa reports, citing BNS. The agreement will regulate the use of military bases and the arrival, movement, and departure of German troops in Lithuania. Also, the agreement will…
Raising Estonia’s defence spending to 5% of GDP would be unfeasible, Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi stated, ERR reports. Earlier, Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur suggested that NATO’s new defence plans meant that Estonia would have to raise its defence budget from the current 3% of GDP to somewhere less than 5% over a period of 20…
Estonia may need to raise its defence spending to 5% of GDP to implement NATO’s new defence plans, Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur stated, ERR reports. He said that Estonia clearly needed to acquire more capabilities, including air defence systems and equipment to deal with chemical and biological weapons. The money needed would amount to EUR…
Political leaders of Baltic Sea countries criticised the US strategy on the war in Ukraine at the GLOBSEC 2024 Forum in Prague, The Baltic Sentinel reported. Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur stressed the need for strategic clarity: “We want Ukraine to win, not just to fight,” he stated. Speaking to the Kyiv Independent, Latvian Defence…
The Estonian Reform Party will appoint MP Jürgen Ligi as the new finance minister in the incoming three-party coalition government, outgoing Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev announced, ERR reports. Ligi served as defence minister in 2005-2007 and finance minister in 2009-2014. He has also served as foreign minister and education minister. Moreover, Võrklaev said that Reform…