Lithuania: Ministers note increased Russian aggression

Russia may have targeted Lithuania’s embassy in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, in a missile attack on 1 August 2026, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys stated, LRT reports. He said that Lithuania could not rule out the possibility that the attack, which damaged the embassy, was deliberate, pointing out that there were almost no strategic facilities near…

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Lithuania: Foreign Ministry working on ties with China, Taiwan

Lithuania is making progress towards normalising relations with communist China, Juozas Olekas, speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, said, BNS reports. Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said that Lithuania’s position on China remained unchanged, stressing the need for a unified European approach as part of the EU’s common foreign and security policy. He warned that…

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Lithuania: University to review PM’s dissertation for plagiarism

Lithuania’s ISM University of Management and Economics will investigate a possible violation of academic ethics by Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius, BNS reports. ISM’s ethics committee will review a complaint regarding alleged plagiarism in Sinkevicius’s doctoral dissertation, which he defended in 2015. Sinkevicius has rejected the allegations, BNS reported. He suggested that the interest in his…

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Baltic: Italy takes over NATO Baltic Air Policing mission

Italy has taken over NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, replacing French and Romanian forces, BNS reports. Italy will deploy an air defence contingent of around 200 personnel with four Eurofighter Typhoon (EF-2000) fighter jets to the Siauliai air base in northern Lithuania. The outgoing French and Romanian detachments consisted of about 210 troops with four…

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Lithuania: Foreign Ministry plans to open embassy in Brazil

Lithuania plans to open an embassy in Brazil in October 2026, BNS reports. The embassy would be located in the Brazilian capital, Brasília. Earlier, the Foreign Ministry planned to open the embassy in July 2026, ELTA reported. Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said that the embassy would help boost exports to Mercosur countries. Currently, Lithuania has…

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Lithuania: Tunnels used to smuggle migrants from Belarus

Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT) has found several tunnels used to smuggle irregular migrants from Belarus into Lithuania, LRT reports. Speaking in an interview with 15min, VSAT commander Rustamas Liubajevas said that migrants were increasingly using tunnels and caves to cross the border. VSAT discovered the first tunnels in 2025. Digging such tunnels would…

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Lithuania: Former PM Kazimira Prunskiene dies

Lithuania’s first prime minister after the restoration of the country’s independence, Kazimira Prunskiene, has died at the age of 83, BNS reports. She joined the Lithuanian Communist Party in 1980, was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, and helped establish the country’s pro-independence movement, Sajudis. She was appointed prime minister…

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Lithuania: Stricter sanctions on Russians, Belarusians proposed

Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has proposed expanding national sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens, BNS reports. Under the proposed draft legislation, Russian and Belarusian individuals and organisations would be barred from public cultural or sports events in Lithuania if they have operated in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, directly or indirectly support the war against Ukraine, or…

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