Contents tagged with Lithuania

  • Lithuania and Russia prepare to exchange captured spies

    Lithuania and Russia have agreed to exchange a number of prisoners accused of espionage, the Lithuanian news agency BNS reported, citing informed sources.

    Lithuania will hand over Nikolai Filipchenko, a Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agent who was convicted two years ago. In turn, Russia will release the Lithuanian citizens Yevgeny Mataitis and Aristidas Tamosaitis.

    The exchange agreement also includes a Norwegian citizen who was convicted in Russia and one other Russian citizen. …

  • US to deploy tank battalion in Lithuania

    In October the US will be deploying a tank battalion in Lithuania at a training ground several kilometers from the Belarusian border, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry announced in a post on its website.

    The battalion in question is from the 9th regiment of the 1st division of the US army, and it will be deployed at a military training ground near the Lithuanian city of Pabrade, roughly 10 km from the border with Belarus. Around 500 US army personnel, 30 M1 Abrams tanks, 25 M2 Bradley fighting …

  • Belarusian company excluded from project in Lithuania for ties with Russia

    The Latvian government has excluded consortium of the Kaunas-based company KRS and the Belarusian company Beltruboprovodstroy from the tender for the construction of the Gas Interconnection Poland–Lithuania (GIPL). The reason for that was the business ties of the Belarusian company with the Russian companies and contacts with legal and physical persons who “present a risk to Latvia”.

    The consortium was offering the lowest bid price— 74.9 million euros (without VAT), reports DELFI news agency. …

  • Over the past week NATO detected Russian military aircraft over the Baltic 9 times

    During the period between August 5-11, NATO air patrol aircraft detected and escorted Russian aircraft nine times over the Baltics, reports Radio Liberty.

    According to the Lithuanian Defense Ministry, in most cases, Russian warplanes crossed into the in the country's airspace with transponders turned off. It was only on August 6 that a Russian warplane flew into Lithuanian airspace over the Baltic sea because of the "bad weather conditions," notes Lithuanian Defense Ministry.

    The Russian side …

  • Media: Families of Dutch NATO pilots were intimidated by individuals 'with Russian accent'

    Family members of Dutch pilots who conducted the NATO air patrol mission in the Baltic countries in 2017 received threatening phone calls, reports the Dutch newspaper NL Times.

    As noted, the wives and live-in girlfriends of the pilots of F-16 aircraft were repeatedly called by unknown persons "with a Russian accent," who, among other things, suggested that their husbands should leave the region and were interested what their wives think about the service in the Baltic. The women often receive …

  • Lithuania demands that all EU members stop recognizing Russian passports issued to Donbas residents

    Lithuania intends to demand that the EU does not recognize Russian passports issued to residents of the territory of the Donbas which is not under Ukraine’s control, said the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry as reported by Interfax-Ukraine.

    "At the moment we are actively working on a coordinated response at the EU level to the ongoing violations of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, including illegally issued documents to the residents of Ukraine in the temporarily occupied by Russia …

  • Two people convicted of spying for Russia in Lithuania

    Two men were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment in Lithuania on charges of espionage for Russia.

    Both defendants were found guilty of transmitting information to Russian intelligence and sentenced to four years and nine months in prison each, reports Deutsche Welle.

    The message of the General Prosecutor's office in Vilnius reports that two men, who were born in 1966 and 1961, for several years were taking photos of the area and communication structure of a military airfield in Šiauliai …

  • Lithuania gives Ukraine almost a million munitions

    Lithuania sent Ukraine about 256 thousand euros worth of unused ammunition for Soviet small arms, reported by Lithuania’s Ministry of Defense on Tuesday, June 11.

    “About 1 million rounds of Soviet-made rifles and machine guns, which are no longer used by the Lithuanian army, were transported to Ukraine by Ukrainian Air Force military transport aircraft,” according to the statement.

    The ammunition was sent in accordance with the bilateral agreement on cooperation in the field of defense to …

  • Lithuania and Poland adopt declaration on Ukraine’s EU membership

    Poland, which is celebrating 15 years of EU membership and 20 years of NATO membership this year, is willing to share its experience in this matter with Ukraine, said Polish Marshal of the Senate Stanislaw Karczewski during the 10th session of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly in Kyiv, Radio Poland reports.

    “We will build a stronger European Union. And a stronger EU is a union with Ukraine. A high level of security is also related to Ukraine’s membership in NATO. In Poland this year we will …

  • Large-Scale NATO exercises begin in Lithuania

    The large-scale military exercises named Gelezinis Vilkas 2019 (Iron Wolf 2019) started in Lithuania. About four thousand soldiers from 10 countries and more than a thousand units of equipment will participate in the exercises, and it will continue for two weeks, reports the command of the Lithuanian army.

    "The purpose of the exercise, which involves units of Lithuanian Armed Forces, as well as personnel and equipment of NATO allies, is the integration of all these forces and means into a …