Lithuania’s Vilnius Regional Court has postponed sentencing in the criminal case against the former owners of the now liquidated Snoras bank, Vladimir Antonov and Raimondas Baranauskas, until 5 November 2024, BNS reports. The Prosecutor General’s Office asked for both to be sentenced to 10.5 years in prison. The pretrial investigation lasted over 7 years, from…
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…
Political leaders of Baltic Sea countries criticised the US strategy on the war in Ukraine at the GLOBSEC 2024 Forum in Prague, The Baltic Sentinel reported. Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur stressed the need for strategic clarity: “We want Ukraine to win, not just to fight,” he stated. Speaking to the Kyiv Independent, Latvian Defence…
Electricity prices in Estonia will increase significantly following the planned decoupling from the Russian electricity grid in February 2025, Postimees reports. Currently, the rate for production and consumption stands at just EUR 0.04 per MWh. Estonia’s transmission system operator, Elering, has proposed raising the rate to as much as EUR 5.31 per MWh, largely due…
Latvia’s State Security Service (VDD) has conducted searches at two locations related to former MEP Tatjana Zdanoka (Tatyana Zhdanok) of the Latvian Russian Union (LKS), LETA reports. VDD confiscated data carriers, notes, and documents for further analysis. VDD confirmed that the searches were part of a criminal investigation into Zdanoka’s possible cooperation with Russian intelligence…
US presence in Europe and the Baltic region is the best deterrent against Russia, contributing to stability in the whole region, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda stated, BNS reports. Speaking at the European Political Community summit in the UK, Nauseda said that if former US president Donald Trump won the US presidential elections in November 2024,…
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina urged European countries to “resist Russian evil,” saying that this would help increase security and prosperity in the continent, LSM reports. Speaking at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in the UK, Silina called on Europe to provide more military, financial, and political support to Ukraine. She said that European…
Latvia’s Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) will inform altogether 4,650 Russian citizens on steps they need to take to be able to stay in Latvia after changes to the country’s law on immigration, LETA reports. Russian nationals with permanent residence permits must apply for the status of a permanent EU resident and pass…
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze has called for severing economic ties with Russia and Belarus “to the maximum,” LSM reports. She insisted that Latvia must continue to decontaminate itself from Russian influence, stressing that economic security was as important for national security as military security. Braze reiterated the need for robust EU sanctions against Russia…