News about Lithuania: events, facts and developments on tafs uz.
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Head of the Lithuanian defence ministry Robertas Kaunas said that introducing universal military conscription for men from 2030 is possible. According to him, the country is moving toward this gradually: the number of conscripts is growing, but the demographic situation and falling birth rates are reducing the pool of people liable for conscription.
Otabek YusupovLithuanian border guards recorded a rare violation of the Russian border: a Polish citizen walked along the dunes of the Curonian Spit and ended up in the Kaliningrad region, where he was detained by Russian border guards. According to LRT, such incidents are extremely rare — the previous one was recorded in 2018.
Otabek YusupovEuronews has published a 24-hour guide to Vilnius: Gediminas’ Tower with the “Frequency of Freedom” exhibition, the cathedral, the church of St Anne, the Bernardine Garden, the district of Užupis with its own constitution, Literatų Street, museums and markets. Logistics are described separately: the airport six kilometres from the centre, direct flights by airBaltic, Ryanair and Wizz Air, and a bus from Riga taking about four hours. Euronews has published a 24-hour guide to Vilnius: Gediminas Tower with the 'Frequency of Freedom' exhibition, the Cathedral, St Anne's Church, the Bernardine Gardens, the Užupis district with its own constitution, Literatai Street, museums and markets. Logistics are also covered: the airport is six kilometres from the centre, direct flights by airBaltic, Ryanair and Wizz Air, and a bus from Riga taking around four hours.
Aziz KarimovMaria Zakharova, official spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated in the documentary film 'The Forgotten General' that Russia is grateful to the authorities and residents of the PRC for maintaining the graves of more than 12 thousand Soviet servicemen who died during the liberation of China. It was also reported that the Lithuanian authorities plan to relocate the burial site of Soviet soldiers in Antalieptė.
Otabek YusupovThe authorities of the Zarasai district of Lithuania have initiated a tender to relocate the burial site of Soviet servicemen from the center of Antalieptė to a cemetery. €110 thousand has been allocated for the work; the reburial is explained by the Lithuanian law banning the 'propaganda of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes' in public spaces.
Aziz KarimovTsargrad military commentator Vlad Shlepchenko suggested that the use of the airspace of the Baltic states by Ukrainian drones could create prerequisites for missile attacks on the Leningrad Region. According to him, during the recent raids on northwestern Russia the drones again flew through neighboring states, and deeper than in the spring. Similar concern was voiced by expert Yevgeny Mikhailov.
Sevara AzamovaThe tourism agency Go Vilnius has proposed the 'Europe's Slowest Marathon' campaign: on 12–13 December 2026, residents and visitors of the Lithuanian capital will be able to walk routes from 3 to 42.195 km without registration, stopping for cinnamon buns and festive lights. Digital route maps will be available until 3 January 2027.
Javlon TursunovIn September 2026, inflation in the euro area stood at 3.8%, but the spread within it is wide: 2.7% in Finland, 3.3% in Germany and 6.1% in Lithuania under a single ECB rate of 2.50%. The main driver was an 18.9% rise in energy prices, while the differences are explained by energy mix, taxes and wage dynamics.
Javlon TursunovLithuanian police discovered a large synthetic drug production laboratory near Vilnius, which, according to the investigation, was run by a Dutch citizen of Turkish origin. Seized were more than 500 kg of methamphetamine, over 300 kg of amphetamine, about 4.5 kg of 3-CMC and more than 3,000 liters of the precursor BMK — over 4 million doses in total.
Sevara AzamovaKarol Nawrocki and Gitanas Nausėda, meeting in Warsaw, discussed regional security, the war in Ukraine and strengthening NATO's eastern flank. Nausėda called for new sanctions and tighter visa policy, and also warned of growing hybrid threats. The statements came amid criticism of the American-Russian arrangement to resume Russian diesel exports.
Javlon TursunovLithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė's predecessor Mindaugas Sinkevičius stated that Vilnius has begun consultations with NATO on revising drone interception procedures. The trigger was an incident on Sunday when a suspected Ukrainian drone that flew in from Poland exploded on Lithuanian territory. Under current rules, pilots must visually identify an object before using force.
Javlon TursunovAccording to Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė... no — as reported by Lithuanian radio LRT, Prime Minister... According to the Lithuanian Prime Minister, speaking after a national security commission meeting on October 19, the drone that fell in the country on October 18 belonged to Ukraine, carried explosives and likely flew from the direction of Poland rather than Belarus, as previously. The cause of the fall has not been established.
Sevara AzamovaOn Sunday, October 18, an unidentified drone crossed Lithuanian airspace; its debris damaged a moving car in the north of the country, with no injuries. At NATO's command, two Italian Eurofighters were scrambled, but due to cloud cover the pilots could not visually identify the object. Vilnius claims the drone flew in from Poland; Warsaw is considering several versions, including a possible launch from Lithuanian territory. Kyiv suggested the UAV may have been deflected by Russian electronic warfare and apologized.
Otabek YusupovNATO fighters escorted an unidentified object, believed to be a drone, in Lithuania's Biržai district near the Latvian border on Sunday morning. According to the Latvian army, the object was likely not shot down and may have exploded on its own. The day before, Romania reported downing two Geran-family drones over the Black Sea.
Otabek YusupovLithuania announced that it has frozen the assets of Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov under national sanctions. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys announced this on X, stating that sanctions pressure on Russia and those who contribute to its war must be strengthened and maintained. He also called the removal of the two Russian oligarchs from the EU sanctions list an «incorrect signal». At the end of September, EU member state ambassadors agreed to remove Fridman and Usmanov from the sanctions lists, while the EU extended sanctions against 3,000 companies and individuals for three years — the first such three-year extension, as previously the sanctions had to be renewed every six months. France and Slovakia had requested the removal of sanctions from Usmanov, and Luxembourg from Fridman.
Aziz Karimov
