The three Baltic States have joined the G7’s Declaration of Support for Ukraine, ERR reports. The declaration aims to provide Ukraine with sustained political, military, financial, and economic assistance through bilateral agreements. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte expressed their “unwavering support” for Ukraine until…
A Russian army lieutenant who took part in Russia’s war in Ukraine has fled to Lithuania and applied for asylum, TV3 reports. He was detained at Vilnius bus station, after which he applied for asylum. Earlier, the man had crossed the border from Belarus but was pushed back by border guards. In June 2023, a…
Lithuania has deemed 1,164 Belarusian and Russian nationals a threat to national security, according to the Lithuanian Migration Department (LMD), BNS reports. Altogether 910 Belarusian and 254 Russian citizens were denied residence permits or visas after the introduction of a mandatory questionnaire, which includes questions on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Lithuania restricted the…
Latvia must prepare for Russia’s policy to remain aggressive over the long term, Latvia’s new ambassador to NATO, Maris Riekstins, stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with LTV, Riekstins said that recent events suggested that Russian leader Vladimir Putin saw extending the war in Ukraine over many years as the only way out of…
Lithuania is assembling a coalition of countries to help Ukraine’s demining efforts, Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas announced, BNS reports. He said that besides Lithuania, the coalition now included Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and soon Denmark. The minister invited other countries to join with their instructors and equipment. The demining mission will operate in territories liberated…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda urged Latin American countries not to be “seduced” by Russian propaganda, BNS reports. Speaking at a summit of leaders from the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Brussels, Nauseda pointed out that Russia was “not a victim, but the aggressor” in the war in Ukraine….
Estonia continues to push for an EU-wide ban on Russian tourists, ERR reports. Andres Siplane, chief sanctions expert at the Foreign Ministry, said that discussions on a wider ban on Russian tourism continued almost every day behind closed doors. He said that Estonia was talking to Georgia about the issue as well. However, it is…
Latvia’s Latvians and Russian-speakers continue to hold completely opposite views on the war in Ukraine, according to an SKDS poll for Ir magazine, LSM reports. The survey showed that 78% of Latvian-speakers supported Ukraine in April 2023, while only 27% of Russian-speakers did so. In mixed households, just 32% supported Ukraine, which was down from…
The decision of NATO’s Vilnius summit not to invite Ukraine to join the alliance reflects the view of the leaders of the bigger Western countries on how the war in Ukraine may end, Estonian MP Raimond Kaljulaid (SDE), head of the Estonian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, says. Writing in an opinion piece for…