The Netherlands will deploy a Patriot long-range air defence system in Lithuania for the Baltic Connection 24 (BALTCON24) military exercise on 7-19 July 2024, BNS reports. Lithuania’s Defence Ministry said that the deployment was the first step in implementing NATO’s decision to establish a rotational air defence model to strengthen the alliance’s integrated air and…
The Lithuanian government is set to grant special status to German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall’s planned artillery ammunition factory in Radviliskis, BNS reports. The move would allow the company to begin building the factory without the usual regulatory permits, which will need to be obtained before the project’s completion, however. Construction is expected to start in…
A group of 24 migrants have filed a class action lawsuit against Lithuania, seeking compensation of EUR 5,000 each for their arbitrary detention in 2021-2022, BNS reports. The claimants allege that the Lithuanian government unlawfully detained at least 4,000 migrants for months without judicial review during an emergency declared due to irregular border crossings from…
Lithuania is experiencing increasingly common heat waves with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius, which experts say is becoming the new summer norm due to climate change, LRT reports. Gytis Valaika from the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service (LHMT) and Justinas Kilpys from Vilnius University highlight that such temperatures were rare before 2000 but have occurred annually since…
Lithuania has implemented stricter controls on grain imports from Russia and other high-risk countries and territories as of 18 March 2024, BNS reports. Under the new rules, all shipments by land to the Lithuanian market or for export will be inspected. The Agriculture Ministry expects the controls to be extended to include checks on the…
Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas will resign, the government announced, LRT reports. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte explained that the government wanted to do “more and faster” for Lithuania’s security. Anusauskas revealed that Simonyte had offered him another post but he had refused. The minister said that the offer to swap posts was “unexpected.” Simonyte named…
Lithuanian farmers and grain processors are expressing increased concern over the import of Russian grain into the EU, LRT reports. Ausrys Macijauskas, chairman of the Lithuanian Grain Growers Association (LGAA), noted that 12mn tonnes of Russian grain was imported into the EU in 2023, including over 3mn tonnes via Latvia and Lithuania. Macijauskas said that…
Polish President Andrzej Duda assured that Poland was ready to defend every inch of NATO territory, including all three Baltic States, BNS reported. Speaking to visiting Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Duda vowed that Lithuania could count on Poland. Lithuania’s chief of defence, General Valdemaras Rupsys, also noted that NATO planned for the use of Polish…
Lithuania will join the Czech-led initiative to buy ammunition for Ukraine, according to Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, BNS reports. Contributing countries will look for potential ammunition stocks or sources of rapid production for acquisition. The plan is to procure 800,000 shells outside the EU, including possibly from India, South Africa, South Korea, and Türkiye, Kyiv…