Contents tagged with Lithuania

  • Lithuania has requested that the U.S. military's deployment in the country be permanent

    Linas Linkevičius, head of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, said that the country considers the constant presence of American troops in their territory necessary, and that this request has already been expressed to the US authorities.

    “We are advocating the constant presence of American troops, on account of the fact that our own possibilities are extremely limited,” Linkevičius stated, as cited by Delfi.

    He also added that he made this request to the US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert …

  • German tanks and armored vehicles arrive in Lithuania

    A heavy machine division of the Bundeswehr successfully reached Lithuania on Friday, February 24, a representative of the German armed forces reported. Twenty Marder infantry fighting vehicles and six Leopard 2 tanks were delivered by rail to Sheshtokai station. From Sheshtokai they were transported to their place of permanent deployment at the Rukla military base.

    Transports of the heavy machine division to Lithuania took several days. On February 21, part of the division departed from …

  • Lithuanian President: Construction of nuclear plant near Lithuanian border is the Russian geopolitical project against Lithuania

    The Belarusian NPP (BAES) which is being constructed near the Lithuanian border is a geopolitical project of Russia directed against Lithuania, said Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, as reported by Delfi media source.

    “I consider this project, BAES, a Russian geopolitical project, malevolently directed against Lithuania. This is an opportunity to blackmail and put pressure on Lithuania, to impede its integration with the West,” Grybauskaite stated.

    According to her, Lithuania needs to …

  • Lithuania will seek to maintain sanctions against Russia until it leaves the Crimea

    Lithuania will seek to maintain all sanctions against Russia until it withdraws from the occupied territories of Ukraine, as stated by the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry on the occasion of the third anniversary of the annexation of the Crimea.

    “Lithuania strongly supports the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. In support of Ukraine, we will continue to implement the non-recognition policy of the illegal annexation of the Crimea that began three years ago,” the …

  • Lithuanian President hopes for even more support from NATO and the U.S.

    Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė announced during the Munich Security Conference that her country expects even broader military assistance from the United States to further strengthen NATO's eastern flank. The President made the statement on Saturday, February 18 during a meeting of the leaders of the three Baltic States with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

    Grybauskaitė stressed at the end of the meeting, in an interview to Agence France-Presse (AFP), that it is important to bear in …

  • Media: Russia aims to discredit German soldiers in Lithuania using fake news

    Bundeswehr soldiers in Lithuania have become the victims of information attacks that involve fake news aiming to discredit the German military.

    An official representative of the Ministry of Defense of Germany confirmed this information, Deutsche Welle reported.

    A German Defense Ministry spokesman told the publication Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that on February 14, Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament Viktoras Pranckietis received an anonymous letter by email that accused German soldiers …

  • European Commision allows Lithuanian ban of Russian TV channel for inciting hatred

    Lithuania’s decision to suspend broadcasting rights of Russian TV channel RTR-Planeta complies with EU legislation, a report on the European Commission’s website said.

    In December 2016, Lithuanian authorities notified the European Commission that Russian language TV channel RTR-Planeta, broadcasting to Lithuanian from Sweden, was disseminating material inciting hatred. Thus, Lithuanian authorities blocked the broadcasting of the channel for three months.

    "Statements made in several RTR- …

  • Commander of Lithuanian Air Force was dismissed becuase he intended to repair helicopters in Russia

    Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis discharged the Commander of the Air Force of the country, Colonel Audronis Navickas, due to his intent to repair military helicopters in Russia, as reported by Delfi.

    The Minister made this decision based on the results of an official investigation. The Air Force commander was dismissed from his duties at the beginning of the investigation a few months ago.

    As a result of the Minister’s decision, the Colonel is on a temporary reserve list of …

  • Lithuania to send 80,000 euro in humanitarian assistance to Avdiivka

    Lithuania will provide 80,000 euro in humanitarian assistance for the town of Avdiivka which was affected by recent military actions, as stated by the Foreign Minister of Lithuania, Linas Linkevičius, who visited Avdiivka, Delfi news agency reports.

    "Today we have allocated 40,000 euro from the Ministry for medication through the Red Cross. The Prime Minister also promised that we will allocate another 40,000 euro for Avdiivka’s needs. Most likely it will be construction materials and …

  • Ten U.S. tanks were deployed to Lithuania

    On Friday morning, ten American tanks were deployed to Lithuania within the framework of  American obligations to NATO’s collective defense, Delfi news agency reports.

    "The equipment is already at the railway station in Gaižiūnai. Unloading operations will begin shortly," Loreta Kavaliauskiene, spokeswoman for the Duke Vaidotas Mechanized Infantry Battalion stated.

    It’s not the first time that the U.S. brings tanks for exercises, but this time there will be more tanks than ever before since …