Several people were detained in Lithuania after smuggler balloons disrupted flights at Vilnius International Airport (VIA) overnight on 4 October 2025, LRT reports. Vilmantas Vitkauskas, director of the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC), said that 10 of the 25 weather balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes had been found and several suspects who tried to retrieve the…
Smuggler balloons from Belarus disrupted flights at Lithuania’s Vilnius International Airport (VIA) overnight on 4 October 2025, LRT reports. The National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) reported that 25 meteorological balloons, most likely carrying smuggled cigarettes, entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus. State-run airport operator Lietuvos Oro Uostai (LTOU) suspended flights at VIA at around 10pm on…
Russia’s use of “shadow fleet” tankers in the Baltic Sea is increasingly dangerous for the region, according to a report from the Military Intelligence Centre (Luurekeskus) of the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF), ERR reports. Restricting the shadow fleet would reduce Russia’s revenues and military capabilities, and greatly improve security in the Baltic Sea region, the…
Latvia’s Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) will fine the electronic moped rental company, Ride, for failing to suspend operations as requested, LETA reports. PTAC told Ride to suspend operations after two teenage girls riding the company’s moped died when they were hit by a train in Riga. The consumer rights authority concluded that Ride had…
Finland’s Helsinki District Court has concluded that it has no jurisdiction in the criminal case over the severing of undersea power and data cables in the Gulf of Finland in December 2024, YLE reported. In the case, the captain and two shipmates of the Eagle S oil tanker were charged with aggravated sabotage, aggravated interference…
Latvia’s Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) has suspended the operations of the electronic moped rental company, Ride, following an accident resulting in the deaths of two teenage girls in Riga, LSM reports. The company insisted that the decision was unjustified and said it was considering a legal challenge. PTAC suspended the service to prevent minors…
Lithuania has extended the closure of part of the country’s airspace along the border with Belarus until 1 December 2025, the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) announced, BNS reports. LGP pointed to continued security concerns and the need for new legislation to guide military operations. Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene said that extending the airspace closure was…
The three Baltic States must agree on a new financing model for the Baltic joint venture, RB Rail, which manages the Rail Baltica railway project, CEO Marko Kivila and CFO Ojars Daugavietis stressed, LETA reports. Kivila noted that RB Rail’s budget remains largely unchanged in 2025, and that the company has therefore halted hiring and…
The supervisory board of Latvia’s state-owned passenger train operator, Pasazieru Vilciens (Vivi), has appointed Raitis Nespors as the company’s new board chairman for a five-year term, LSM reports. Nespors served as member of Vivi’s management board in 2021-2024. Also, the supervisory board appointed Zane Abolina as a new member to Vivi’s board. Marcis Kaulins continues…