Contents tagged with Lithuania

  • Lithuania donates unused ammunition to Ukraine

    The Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Lithuania donated ammunition that is no longer in use by the Lithuanian Armed Forces to Ukraine. The transfer took place on the 2nd of September, the Defense Ministry reported on Saturday.

    “The ammunition was transferred to Ukraine in accordance with the decision of the Defense Resources Agency in response to Ukraine’s request for support in 2014,” the report says. The ammunition was made available after the Lithuanian Army’s rearmament in …

  • Lithuania purchases German armored vehicles

    On Monday, August 22nd, Lithuania signed an agreement to purchase German “Boxer” combat armored vehicles in the amount of 386 million Euros, Delfi.lt reports. It is supposedly the most expensive purchase in the history of the Armed Forces of Lithuania.

    "88 combat wheeled armored vehicles will be bought for 385.6 million Euro and issued in accordance with the requirements of Lithuania,” said the Minister of National Defense of Lithuania, Juozas Olekas. The Minister signed the agreement with the …

  • Linkevicius: Russia's accusations about Ukraine's involvement in terrorist plot in Crimea are 'bogus'

    Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius commented on the Federal Security Service's (FSB) statement about the alleged Ukrainian sabotage in Crimea. He called the Russian Federal Security Service’s statement a bogus accusation.

    “Aggressor accused the victim of an attack. Old KGB methods. False Russia's accusations towards Ukraine to justify future ‘retaliation’?” Linkevičius wrote on Twitter.

    On Wednesday, Russia claimed it had thwarted a terrorist attack in the Crimea, which was …

  • Lithuanian Foreign Minister: Sanctions against Russia should continue

    Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius believes that the West should continue sanctions against Russia. He detailed his opinion in his Twitter account, recalling the anniversary of the Russian-Georgian war.

    “Eight years ago, Russia's war in Georgia had to be a lesson to the world. Russia annexing Crimea showed it was not the case. Sanctions must continue,” Linkevičius posted.

    The Russo-Georgian war of 2008 was an armed conflict between Georgia on one side, and Russia with …

  • Lithuania criticizes Russia for issuing coin commemorating liberation of Vilnius

    The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry is outraged by the issue of a Russian coin dedicated to the liberation of Vilnius in 1944, the political director of the ministry, Rolandas Kačinskas, told BNS news agency.

    According to him, such a move confirms that Russia has not accepted the “historical truth about the Soviet occupation of Baltics.”

    A commemorative silver coin with the nominal value of five Russian rubles was issued by the Bank of Russia on August 1. It depicts a now-disassembled monument to …

  • Ukraine and Lithuania lift air travel restrictions between the two countries

    The State Aviation Administration reports that as of now, there will be no restrictions on the number of designated airlines, points of departure and arrival, and flights between Ukraine and Lithuania.

    The State Aviation Administration of Ukraine has agreed with the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Lithuania on the complete removal of restrictions of air transportation between the two countries. This was also reported by the State Aviation Administration.

    Earlier …

  • Lithuania asks the US for help in strengthening its air defenses

    Lithuania asks the US for help in strengthening the capacities of air defense in the region. This was stated by the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Lithuania, Juozas Olekas, Delfi reported.

    “We have strengthened the ground forces of the military with the battalion group. Now we are talking about simultaneously strengthening the air defense,” Olekas said on Friday at a meeting with the United States Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF), Deborah Lee James.

    According to the …

  • Linkevicius: NATO-Russia Council meeting was not fruitful

    Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius claims that the meeting between NATO and Russian diplomats was not fruitful, Delfi reported.  

    After a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council on Wednesday in Brussels, Linkevičius said that the current dialogue with Russia is certainly better than having no communication at all, but the two sides have not been able to come to a consensus on the most important issues, including the conflict in Ukraine.

    "Of course, it is better to talk than not to talk, …

  • Adviser to the President of Lithuania: NATO considers Russia to be a greater threat than ISIS

    NATO sees Russia as a greater threat than the so-called Islamic State. According to Postimess, this was said by the Advisor to the President of Lithuania on Foreign Policy, Nerijus Aleksiejūnas.

    “If you look at the document adopted by NATO, it is clear that Russia is mentioned more frequently. This, I believe, reflects a certain understanding that the Russian threat is equally understood by all and that this is a threat to us as the Alliance, as well as to the whole of Europe,” Aleksiejūnas …

  • Lithuanian President: Russia has to be deterred with military force

    The threats to the international security haven’t diminished, and that is why, according to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, NATO has to move from partial security measures to creating a real military deterrence, as reported by the Latvian Delfi news portal.

    “Unfortunately, after the meeting in Wales there haven’t been fewer threats. That is why the time has come to move from partial security measures to creating a real military deterrence. We expect that finally concrete security …