Lithuania has sent over 4.5mn rounds of ammunition to Ukraine, the Defence Ministry announced, BNS reports. Lithuania’s military assistance to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion totals EUR 0.5bn. The government plans to send a further EUR 200mn of military aid to Ukraine in 2024-2026. Overall, Lithuania’s total aid to Ukraine amounts to…
Estonia’s Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahkna, criticised US technology entrepreneur Elon Musk for denying Ukraine access to his astronautics company SpaceX’s satellite network, Starlink, ERR reports. Tsahkna noted that Musk had an opportunity to shorten the war in Ukraine and save lives, but chose not to do so. Musk said that he had refused Ukraine’s request…
Social media users in Latvia have highlighted statements by Andris Spruds, potential candidate for minister of defence, about the Latvian state and Russian-occupied Crimea, Baltic News Network reports. Speaking in an interview on the Russian-language radio station, Radio Baltkom, in January 2013, Spruds contested the legal continuity of the Latvian republic. Also, he asserted that…
The foreign ministers of the eight Nordic and Baltic countries (NB8) are meeting in the Latvian capital, Riga, on 6-7 September 2023, LSM reports. The ministers will discuss regional and energy security, hybrid threats, support for Ukraine, and cooperation in international organisations. Latvia coordinates NB8 cooperation in 2023. Latvia’s focus is on strengthening the rules-based…
Apartment rental prices in Lithuania are 20% higher than before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, LRT reports. In Vilnius, the rental price of a one-bedroom apartment is around EUR 1,000 or more per month in the city centre, EUR 700-800 in new buildings, and EUR 500 in old buildings. In Kaunas, rents are around EUR…
Many Estonian companies continue doing business with Russia, ERR reports. Altogether 500-600 Estonian businesses still trade goods with Russia. The total value of goods exported from Estonia to Russia has not changed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when it amounted to EUR 50-70mn per month. This is partly due to the rise…
Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has invited the Vatican’s representative in Lithuania for a conversation after Pope Francis gave statements praising Russia, BNS reports. Speaking online to a group of Catholic Russians in Saint Petersburg, Pope Francis said that they were “heirs of the great Mother Russia” and of an “empire of great culture and great humanity.”…
Estonia’s Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, has refused to attend a joint session of the state budget and the anti-corruption select committees of the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, on 29 August 2023, ERR reports. The committees will hold an extraordinary joint meeting to discuss the operations of Estonian businesses in Russia. Kallas has come under heavy…
Altogether 263 companies in Latvia continue to export goods to Russia or Belarus, according to the Central Statistical Bureau, LSM reports. The data show that 169 businesses export goods to Russia and 94 to Belarus. The list includes 38 companies that began doing business with Russia or Belarus after the start of the full-scale Russian…