Lithuania
Latest stories
Lithuania Says Russian Navy Impeding Baltic Power Link

Lithuania on Thursday summoned the Russian ambassador, accusing the Kremlin's warships of thwarting work on a key underwater power link to Sweden that would reduce the Baltic state's dependence on Russian energy. 

Lithuania's foreign ministry said the Russian navy has repeatedly tried to disrupt the laying of cable during Moscow's military drills in the Baltic sea.

W140 Full Story
Lithuania Denies Entry to Eight Russian Bikers

Lithuanian border guards said Tuesday they had denied entry to eight Russian bikers including at least one member of a pro-Kremlin group attempting that had planned a controversial WWII victory ride through Europe.

The border guard service said it turned away eight Russian citizens at the Baltic state's borders with Belarus and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad on Monday and Tuesday.

W140 Full Story
Abe Hails Japanese Holocaust Hero Sugihara

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Washington's Holocaust Memorial on Monday to hail a rare hero of Japan's brutal World War II past.

Previously, Abe has faced criticism for his allegedly revisionist views of Japan's own war-time behavior.

W140 Full Story
Lithuania Claims One-Third Of Russian Diplomats are Spies

Lithuania on Monday alleged that one-third of Russian diplomats in the EU and NATO Baltic state were working for spy agencies, and warned that Moscow could test the alliance with unconventional tactics.

Lithuania's intelligence agency said it kicked out three Russian spies last year, adding that Moscow was increasingly interested in the NATO member's military infrastructure.

W140 Full Story
Germany to Send 500 Troops for Drills in Lithuania

Berlin will send over 500 troops to Lithuania for military exercises this year to underscore its NATO commitments amid tensions with Russia, the Baltic state's defense ministry said Tuesday.

A company of soldiers will be deployed to the formerly Soviet-ruled Baltic state from April to July, and separate units will arrive for exercises in July and November, the ministry said in a statement.

W140 Full Story
Lithuania to Reinstate Army Conscription amid Russia Fears

Lithuania said Tuesday it would return to limited conscription later this year as concern mounts over Russian military exercises near NATO Baltic states.

"We must temporarily renew mandatory military service," President Dalia Grybauskaite told reporters.

W140 Full Story
Lithuania FM: West Making Little Headway in Ukraine Crisis

Despite pressure from sanctions and a high-level Franco-German mediation, the conflict in east Ukraine shows little sign of ending, Lithuania's foreign minister said Monday.

"Despite all these efforts, the situation has almost not changed," Linas Linkevicius told Agence France Presse in an interview. "We do not see any effect."

W140 Full Story
Britain Warns of Russian Danger to Baltic states

Russia could inflict the tactics it is accused of using to destabilize Ukraine on Baltic members of NATO, Britain's defense minister warned in comments to British newspapers on Wednesday.

Michael Fallon said that NATO must be prepared for Russian aggression in any form, and warned of a "real and present danger" to Baltic members of NATO -- eurozone members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

W140 Full Story
Worried over Russia, Lithuania Issues War Survival Guide

Lithuania's defense ministry on Wednesday began distributing wartime survival manuals to schools around the country  reflecting anxiety in the Baltic state over events in Ukraine.

The 98-page guide offers practical advice for emergency and wartime situations from setting up basement shelters to handling hostage dramas to evacuating from war zones. 

W140 Full Story
Lithuania Detains Military Officer Suspected of Spying

Lithuania said Wednesday it detained a military officer for alleged espionage, possibly for Russia, in the latest Cold War-style incident amid heightened tensions between Moscow and the West.

The air force officer, whose name was not released, is suspected "of spying for a foreign country by providing it with information, including classified data," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

W140 Full Story