CORPORATE
Kaliningrad or Karaliaučius: A land fought over for centuries
Five years ago, I wrote about the first time I saw the lands of Kaliningrad, known as the Karaliaučius region in Lithuanian. My first impression was depressing. […]
Kaliningrad
CORPORATE
Gazprom plans to build Kaliningrad LNG terminal
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree under which Kaliningrad’s port limits should be expanded to accommodate a new Gazprom LNG terminal, writes Andrzej Kublik at gazeta.pl. Gazprom plans to install a terminal […]
Opinion
Russian ‘countermeasures’ to NATO in Eastern Europe are coming
When NATO leaders gather in Warsaw on July 8 to 9, they will announce steps to beef up the alliance’s conventional force presence on its eastern flank. NATO also will shortly announce that the SM-3 missile defense site in Romania has achieved operational status. These moves will spur the Kremlin, with some fanfare, to announce military “countermeasures.” But those will be steps that Moscow almost certainly intends to take in any case. […]
Defence
Uncategorized
Russia’s counter to missile defence pushes Europe together
The ceremony of opening the United States’ missile defense base in Deveselu, Romania, last week (Thursday, May 12), was greeted by a barrage of condemnation and criticism from Russian officials. The next day, President Vladimir Putin turned these denouncements into state policy by defining this deployment of a radar station and SM-3 missile interceptors as a direct threat to Russia and promising to “curtail” it. […]
CORPORATE
Poland ‘the only country that could help Lithuania in a crisis’
Without the permanent presence of NATO forces in the Baltic region and with the United States focused on the Pacific Ocean, only Poland could help Lithuania in case of a military threat, according to Casimir […]
Defence
Defence
NATO jets in Lithuania scrambled 5 times last week to intercept Russian planes
NATO air policing fighters stationed in the Baltic States performed five scrambles last week to intercept military aircraft of the Russian Federation in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence has reported. […]
CORPORATE
What do Russian provocations in Baltic signal?
The US European Command said last weekend that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet “performed erratic and aggressive maneuvers”, flying within 50 feet of an American RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea. […]
CORPORATE
What could Russians have been doing on Lithuanian shores?
Russian OMRP Spetsnaz units may have landed on the coast of Juodkrantė two years ago. This suggestion by the chairman of the parliamentary National Security and Defence Committee Artūras Paulauskas, has caused considerable turmoil and concern. […]
Politics
Lithuanian president tells politicians not to campaign on security
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė has urged politicians to refrain from speculating on security issues, following a number of suspected border violations by Russia. […]
Foreign affairs
Lithuanian sentenced to 13 years for spying in Russia
A court in Russia‘s Kaliningrad region has found Yevgeny Mataitis, a dual Lithuanian-Russian citizen, guilty of high treason and sentenced him to 13 years in prison, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Wednesday. […]
Defence
NATO jets scrambled three times in last week to intercept Russian planes over Baltics
NATO fighter jets serving in the Baltic air policing mission performed three scrambles last week to identify and escort Russian military planes over the Baltic Sea, the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence Ministry has said. […]
Defence
Russian troops ‘could have landed on Lithuanian coast’
MP Artūras Paulauskas, chairman of the parliamentary National Security and Defence Committee, suggested in an interview that Russian forces could have landed on the Lithuanian coast of the Curonian Spit during military exercise. […]
CORPORATE
Gazprom ‘tried to undermine Lithuanian LNG terminal’
Russian energy company Gazprom tried to undermine Lithuania’s liquefied natural gas terminal (LNG) at Klaipeda and attempted to put pressure on some of Lithuania’s major gas consumers, the State Security Department (VSD) claimed in a threat to national security assessment released on Wednesday. […]
CORPORATE
US looks to tip balance of military power in Baltics
Russia‘s intensifying military activities have forced NATO to respond in kind, with the Alliance saying it will conduct more military exercises in Europe, and the United States promising to deploy far more equipment and forces in Europe. In 2017, Washington is setting aside $3.4 billion for Europe’s defence, but this might turn out to be just the tip of the iceberg. […]
Opinion
Heritage Foundation: The US needs to get its Baltic force posture right
The U.S. has a long history of championing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Baltic states, dating back to the interwar period of the 1920s. Today, U.S. interest in the Baltic region derives primarily from its treaty obligations as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). […]
CORPORATE
CORPORATE
Opinion
Lithuania’s key role in countering Russian A2/AD challenge to Baltics
Concepts of military strategy and doctrine have long influenced the political and military geography of the Baltic region. […]