Contents tagged with Lithuania

  • 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 …

  • Lithuania: Russia is demonstratively preparing for war

    The Russian and Belarussian joint military exercises, called ‘West-2017,’ are a demonstrative preparation for a war with the West, the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė, said.

    "We see different threats, they are growing, we are anxiously waiting for the 'West-2017' exercises, during which numerous and aggressive forces will be concentrated, demonstrative preparation for a war with the West is being conducted," Grybauskaitė said.

    In addition, the 'West-2017' will take place in …

  • Linkevicius: Hostilities in Avdiivka could be repeated in other places in Ukraine

    The deterioration of the situation and continuing hostilities near Avdiivka may be repeated in other hot spots in eastern Ukraine, as was stated by the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Linas Linkevičius, before the meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels.

    "The current situation in eastern Ukraine is very complex. There is a relative improvement after the humanitarian catastrophe in Avdiivka but we see that the situation is still unpredictable due to the significant concentration of heavy …

  • The Seimas of Lithuania proposed taking the Kaliningrad region from Russia

    Linas Balsys, the former press secretary of the Lithuanian President, has become a member of the Seimas and has suggested that the issue of Kaliningrad be raised again, as he stated on 20 January during the conference “The World in 2017” in Vilnius, BaltNews.lt. writes.

    According to a parliamentarian, Kaliningrad was not given to Russia forever. Now Lithuania or the leadership of the European Union should address its return, or it should be done as a joint effort.

    “During talks in both …

  • Lithuania continues to supply Ukraine with lethal weapons

    In 2016, Lithuania sent Ukraine 147 shipments of lethal weapons that were designed and produced at the time of USSR, as reported by Ukrinform news agency. The above statistics is accessible through the UN Global Arms Trade portal.

    In particular, Vilnius sent Ukraine 60 KPV-14.5 Vladimirov heavy machine guns (used on Ukrainian BTR armored vehicles) and 86 Degtyaryov 12.7 mm portable machine guns.

    These machine guns are used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in eastern Ukraine.

    Earlier Lithuania …

  • Lithuania approves an updated national security strategy

    On Tuesday, Lithuanian Parliament approved an updated strategy of national security, as reported by Delfi news agency. 107 members of Seimas voted in favor of the document. No one was against it. One person abstained.

    14 threats and risk factors are listed in the strategy. The updated National Security project was prepared by the previous administration. The strategy was last reviewed in 2012 and was planned to be adapted to the changed situation.

    Conventional military threat was the first …

  • Lithuania to build a fence along the border with Russia

    Lithuania decided to build a fence on the border with the Kaliningrad region in 2017. Until recently, only special signs and a 13-meter control zone indicated the border between Russia and Lithuania, Delfi reported, referring to Lietuvos žinios as a source.

    The fence with total value of 3.6 million Euros would be constructed on the 135-kilometer area from Vištytis to Neman. Modern surveillance will be installed near the fence. The funds for this system are planned to be found in 2017.

    The …

  • Media: Lithuania stopped the creation of a data center because of its ties to the FSB

    The Lithuanian authorities have taken measures to stop the implementation of the entrepreneurial plans to build the country’s largest data center near Vilnius. According to the BNS, the Lithuanian Intelligence warned that such a data center could be connected to the Russian “spy center.”

    The head of the VSD agency, Darius Yaunishkis, confirmed that based on data from the State Security Department (VSD), a government commission came to a negative conclusion concerning the Arcus Novus company’s …

  • Dutch fighters began patrolling the skies over the Baltic as part of NATO mission

    As of the 5th of January, F-16 fighter Falcons from the Netherlands Air Force began patrolling the air space of the NATO member Baltic States, as reported on the website of the Defense Ministry of Lithuania.

    As reported in the statement, four aircraft from the air forces of the Netherlands, based at the airbase in Šiauliai, will replace French aircraft which patrolled the skies over the Baltic during the last four months. It is also reported that it is the third rotation of aircraft of the …