Around 5,000 NATO troops from various member states will be stationed in Latvia in the coming years, Defence Minister Andris Spruds announced, LETA reports. The troops will be part of an expanded multinational brigade set to be battle-ready by 2026. The Canada-led brigade will be primarily based at the Adazi military base, with headquarters in…
Estonia continues to collect telecommunication data from its citizens despite it being against EU law and the constitution, ERR reports. The European Court of Justice and Estonia’s Supreme Court have concluded that the data collection is illegal. The data include detailed records from telecommunications and internet service providers, which the EU court argues infringes on…
Latvia recorded 14 serious road accidents involving trucks in the first half of 2024, according to statistics from the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD), LSM reports. In the whole of 2023, the number of accidents with trucks resulting in grave injury or fatality was 20. CSDD has a team of experts to investigate the circumstances…
Latvia plans to build a new factory producing modular powder charges for artillery ammunition in Iecava parish, LETA reports. The factory will have a production capacity of 50,000 charges annually. The plant is expected to begin operations in 2026. The project will cost an estimated EUR 12mn, with EUR 1mn to come from EU co-financing…
Authorities in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, have unveiled a comprehensive city defence plan, BNS reports. The city plans to procure defensive anti-mobility installations, create a public drone training track, increase bomb shelter capacity to cover the entire population, update evacuation plans, and deploy additional warning systems and emergency communication tools. Vilnius mayor Valdas Benkunskas emphasised…
Lithuania will buy tracked vehicles in the second phase of the government’s plan to acquire infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas announced, BNS reports. He said that the Defence Ministry was now in negotiations over the purchase. The minister hopes to secure approval for the procurement in the State Defence Council (VGT) in…
The Latvian government has appointed Brigadier General Georgs Kerlins as the new Chief of the Joint Staff of the Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS), LETA reports. Kerlins will take up the post on 1 August 2024, replacing Major General Andis Dilans. Kerlins has served in the NBS since 1992, currently as Latvia’s military representative at…
The commander of the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF), General Martin Herem, has calculated that funding needed for additional ammunition amounts to around EUR 3.2bn, Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur revealed, ERR reports. He said that the critical amount of funds needed was EUR 1.6bn. The calculation was based on the targets to be destroyed in a…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda supports Lithuania’s withdrawal from the Convention on Cluster Munitions so as to improve the country’s defence capabilities, BNS reports. The Defence Ministry has proposed the motion to the parliament, the Seimas. The ministry highlighted the need for cluster munitions in Lithuania’s defence strategy, noting that adversaries like Russia and Belarus would…