Defence
Russian military
Politics
Search of Lithuanian Railways’ HQ part of year-long international probe
The Tuesday’s searches of the offices of the state railway company Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, or LG) are part of nearly a year-long international investigation, Financial Crime Investigation Service (FCIS) says. […]
Foreign affairs
Opinion
Opinion
Opinion
The Savchenko swap: Why did Putin really free Ukraine’s most famous pilot?
Vladimir Putin’s decision to pardon Nadezhda Savchenko was a purely pragmatic one. Left with no viable alternatives to freeing the Ukrainian pilot, Putin was forced to make a concession that may not sit well with the Russian population, which has come to see Savchenko as a symbol of the “Kiev junta.” […]
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
Opinion
Ukraine’s indispensable economic reforms
Economic reform is central for today’s Ukraine. The capacity of the Ukrainian nation—leadership and population together—to deliver a modern and efficient economy, if achieved, would constitute the winning asset in the West’s current struggle with Russia in Eastern Europe. […]
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. […]
Defence
NATO jets scrambled three times to intercept Russian bombers last week
NATO fighter jets serving in the NATO air policing mission in the Baltic countries were scrambled three times last week to intercept Russian military aircraft, including bombers, flying in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence said on Monday. […]
Uncategorized
Europe’s last dictator comes in from the cold
Lukashenko’s fortunes have changed. Once known as “Europe’s last dictator,” he has won friends in Europe, while antagonizing his traditional ally, Russia. It’s a situation that has left the Kremlin in a difficult positon: should it punish Belarus for its pro-Western tendencies? Or should it continue to prop up the Belarusian economy rather than risk further unrest in the region? […]
CORPORATE
Lithuania to help rehabilitate wounded Ukrainian soldiers
Lithuanian Defence Minister Juozas Olekas opened NATO week in Kiev on Monday and agreed to bring 11 wounded Ukrainian soldiers to Lithuania for rehabilitation. Olekas also met with Ukrainian Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak and discussed […]
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. […]
Uncategorized
Nina Khrushcheva: Putin is a brilliant tactician, but a losing strategist
Each Russian leader picks a subject he is an expert in and Vladimir Putin‘s subject is history. “That is why in order to understand Russia, we must understand Russian history,” says Professor Nina Khrushcheva of the New School University in New York. […]
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. […]
CORPORATE
Subversion is bigger threat for Lithuania than Russian invasion, says Robert D. Kaplan
The real danger Russia poses to countries like Lithuania is not military invasion, but subversion by intelligence operations, attempts to influence the media and politicians, says influential US author and public intellectual Robert David Kaplan. […]
Opinion
Spinning Russia’s Syria exit
Russian television has thrived for months on a diet of victories in Syria. Now that the time has come to spin the news of a withdrawal, the argument is being deployed that it is best to avoid a second Afghanistan. Better still, the exit is being presented as another case of Russia outsmarting the United States. […]
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). […]
Uncategorized