Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed new security commitments from G7 countries, but noted that they were no substitute for NATO membership, BNS reports. Speaking at a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, Zelensky said that the G7 security guarantees paved Ukraine’s way to NATO. He expressed confidence that Ukraine…
Supporters of Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion have put up “Crimea Beach Party” billboards during the NATO summit in Vilnius, BNS reports. The billboards at six intersections in Vilnius show two Ukrainian soldiers sitting on the beach under an umbrella while looking at the destroyed bridge across the Kerch Strait. The billboard campaign was…
Lithuania reopened the Medininkai checkpoint on the border with Belarus in the evening of 9 July 2023, the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) announced, BNS reports. VSAT closed the checkpoint on 7 July 2023 after Belarusian border guards refused to allow a Pakistani national back into Belarus. The Pakistani man was travelling on a bus…
The US may keep rotational forces in Lithuania beyond 2026, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda announced, BNS reports. Speaking after a meeting with US President Joe Biden, Nauseda revealed that he had heard “assurances of US flexibility” in meeting allied needs. Nauseda said that it was “realistic to expect” that the US troop presence in Lithuania…
NATO has affirmed decisions taken at the alliance’s Madrid summit in 2022 to deploy more combat-ready forces to the Baltic States, LRT reports. NATO allies will increase their troop presence in the region to brigade-size units. Meanwhile, German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, announced that Germany’s deployment of a full brigade in Lithuania would be done…
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has arrived in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, for the NATO summit, LRT reports. He arrived in Lithuania on Poland’s presidential jet. Zelensky will have several bilateral meetings with world leaders in Vilnius. Speaking at a public event on Lukiskes Square in central Vilnius, Zelensky thanked Lithuania for its support for Ukraine joining…
NATO member states have agreed on new defence plans for the Baltic region, LRT reports. The plans mean that if Russia sets foot in the region, “it will be pushed out,” Lithuania’s defence chief, General Valdemaras Rupsys, stated. He said that work was needed to implement the new regional defence plans. Lithuania’s NATO Ambassador, Deividas…
US President Joe Biden met with Lithuania’s President, Gitanas Nauseda, in Vilnius in the morning of 11 July 2023, LRT reports. Speaking at the presidential palace, Biden reaffirmed US commitment to the defence of the Baltic States and to NATO. Biden recalled that he first visited Lithuania in 2014, when he was serving as vice…
Lithuania’s National Energy Regulatory Council (VERT) is due to declare state-owned renewable energy company Ignitis Renewables and its strategic partner, Spain-based Ocean Winds, as provisional winners of Lithuania’s first auction to develop an offshore wind farm, GlobeNewswire reports. The two companies bid EUR 20mn for the contract, under which they will obtain the right to develop…