French fighter jets within NATO’s Baltic air-policing mission shot down a drone in eastern Latvia in the morning of 8 June 2026, the Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS) announced, LSM reports. NBS said that the drone entered Latvian airspace due to Russian “electromagnetic warfare,” TVNET reported. Eyewitness said that the incident occurred near the village…
The three Baltic States have joined eight other European countries in calling on the EU to impose tighter restrictions on visas for Russian citizens, ERR reports. The joint letter from the foreign and interior ministers of nine EU member states, Norway, and Iceland stated that “Russians should not be sunning themselves on European beaches while…
Lithuania will only consider the deployment of US nuclear weapons in the country in the event of a crisis or war, Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas stated, BNS reports. He assured that there was “no talk” of deploying weapons of mass destruction in Lithuania during peacetime. However, in a crisis or war, Lithuania should be prepared…
Lithuania has joined France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain in urging the EU to take tougher measures against abusive trade practices by China and other countries, Politico reports. The non-paper noted that some of the EU’s main trading partners were imposing new trade barriers and contributing to industrial overcapacity. The document proposed quicker and easier…
The fugitive Russian banker, Vladimir Antonov, has finally been extradited from France to Lithuania, BNS reports. Earlier, France’s highest court rejected Antonov’s appeal against extradition. In December 2025, he was arrested in western France, where he had been living under an assumed identity. Antonov and his Lithuanian business partner, Raimondas Baranauskas, have both been convicted…
France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, has refused to hear the appeal of fugitive Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov against his extradition to Lithuania, BNS reported. Antonov was detained in France in December 2025 under a European arrest warrant issued by Lithuanian prosecutors. Earlier, a court in Lithuania convicted Antonov and his business partner, Raimondas…
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda were by far the most visible Baltic political leaders in Western media in 2025, according to a survey by Estonia’s Government Office, The Baltic Sentinel reports. The survey looked at mentions of Baltic presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, and defence ministers in US, British, German,…
A court in France has ruled to extradite Russian banker Vladimir Antonov to Lithuania, where he has been found guilty of large-scale fraud, AFP reports. Antonov was detained in western France in December 2025, following a European arrest warrant issued by Lithuania. Antonov’s lawyer, Henry Ermeneux, said that his client would appeal the court ruling,…
Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov, former owner of Lithuania’s collapsed Snoras bank, has been detained in France under a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office, BNS reports. Antonov was detained in Baden on 9 December 2025. Prosecutor General Nida Grunskiene said that work was underway to have him extradited to Lithuania. She…
