Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda pledged to push for the EU to extend sanctions imposed against Belarus, BNS reports. He pointed to the Belarusian regime’s continued alignment with Russia, repression of political opponents, and repeated hybrid attacks against Lithuania. EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius agreed that there was no reason for the EU to remove the…
Lithuania expects Belarus to honour its pledge to stop smuggler balloons from flying into Lithuanian airspace, Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys stated, BNS reports. Earlier, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, John Coale, announced that Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka had promised to halt the balloon incursions. Budrys warned that failure to honour the pledge would affect…
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…
The EU is preparing new sanctions against Belarus, following repeated incursions of smuggler balloons from Belarus into Lithuania, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced, BNS reports. Earlier, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys urged the EU not to allow the Belarusian regime to blackmail and escape its international isolation and have sanctions lifted, ELTA…
Speakers of the parliaments of six countries bordering Russia will meet in the southern Estonian city of Tartu on 3 February 2025 to discuss further support for Ukraine and legislative means to counter Russia’s hybrid warfare, LSM reports. The parliamentary speakers will also discuss relations with the US and the situation in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia,…
There is currently no threat of a full-scale Russian attack against the Baltic States, the outgoing commander of the Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS), Leonids Kalnins, stated, FREEDOM reports, citing DELFI. He pointed out that Russia was currently tied in the war of aggression against Ukraine and suffering “significant losses.” While Russia still had capacity…
Schools in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, have received multiple bomb threats in Russian at the start of the new school year on 2 September 2024, BNS reports. Police have so far received 26 reports of such threats sent to schools by email. None of the threats have proved to be real. Hundreds of bomb threats…
Schools in Latvia received bomb threats in Russian at the start of the new school year on 2 September 2024, LETA reports, citing TV3. Armands Ruks, chief of the State Police of Latvia, said that more than 200 emails with bomb threats were sent. He said that schools in all counties received such messages. While…
The number of new cars sold in Estonia totalled 22,820 in 2023, which was 11.7% more than in 2022, according to data from the Union of Estonian Car Sales and Service Enterprises (AMTEL), ERR reports. Sales were still short of the figure in 2019, when the number of new cars sold totalled 26,589. Hybrid vehicles…