Ukraine
Lithuania appoints honorary consul in Kharkov
Konstiantyn Tokarev has been appointed Lithuania’s honorary consul in the Ukrainian region of Kharkov. […]
Russia’s prosecutor general to examine legitimacy of Baltic states’ independence
Russia‘s Prosecutor General’s Office has opened an investigation into the legitimacy of the independence of the Baltic states. The office is to look into whether a decision, made by the State Council of the USSR in 1991, to recognize the three breakaway states as independent nations was legal, newsru.com reports. […]
Nordic, Baltic and Poland are Europe’s new front-line states, security report says
Europe’s new front-line states are the Nordic countries, Baltic countries, plus Poland, which share a common concern about a “revisionist and rapidly-rearming Russia”, according to the Baltic Sea Security Report by the Centre for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). […]
Lithuania hasn’t decided on arms supply to Ukraine, prime minister says
Lithuania has not made any decisions about supplying weaponry to Ukraine, says the country’s Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius. […]
There is a traditional romance between Germany and Russia
The pacifism of European societies and traditional romance between Russia and Germany are what muffle Europe’s resolution to give a firm response to Russia’s policies in Ukraine, says Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger, the head of international news desk at the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in an interview to DELFI. […]
Putin’s Russia. The dangerous illusion of independent and western oligarchs
I decided to dedicate one more essay in the “Putin’s Russia” series to Russian oligarchs because of one piece of news that attracted much less attention in Lithuania and internationally than it warranted: the former foreign minister of Sweden and one of the fiercest critics of President Valdimir Putin, Carl Bildt, accepted a consulting job at LetterOne, a Luxembourg-based company set up and run by Russian oligarchs. […]
Putin will not risk nuclear war, political scientist Girnius says
American media recently reported that the United States was planning to deploy heavy weaponry in Eastern Europe and the Baltics, including Lithuania. Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius and Minister of Defence Juozas Olekas have confirmed that they are familiar with the plans. Will the move further escalate tensions with Russia? Laisvoji Banga radio talks to political scientist Kęstutis Girnius of Vilnius University. […]
EU united on Russia sanctions, Lithuanian diplomat says
EU ambassadors were united on Wednesday when they agreed to extend the existing economic sanctions against Russia until the end of January, 2016, Lithuania’s Permanent Representative to the EU Raimundas Karoblis says. […]
Putin says Russia to add 40 missiles to its nuclear arsenal
President Vladimir Putin says Russia will add more than 40 intercontinental ballistic missiles to its nuclear arsenal in 2015. […]
Lithuanian president hopes for extension of Russia sanctions
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė hopes the European Council will extend the sectoral sanctions for Russia, in place since last July, during its meeting several weeks hence. […]
Lithuanian parliament to hold presentation of TV channel Ukraine Today
At the request of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Lithuania, the Seimas, parliament, is holding a presentation of the Ukrainian TV channel Ukraine Today, which is to be launched in Lithuania. The participants at the presentation in the European Information Office on Thursday will be welcomed by Benediktas Juodka, Chair of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs, the press service of the Seimas said. […]
New ambassador in Kiev: It’s on me to live up to the reputation Lithuania earned in Ukraine
Ambassadors do not pop up out of the blue and, for Marius Janukonis, Lithuania’s new Ambassador to Ukraine, the journey has been, he says, “a natural course of the diplomatic career”. But landing a diplomatic post in a country like Ukraine is obviously “a big challenge”, he agrees. […]
US ambassador to NATO: Russia’s aggression in Ukraine completely changed rules of the game
At a press conference at the Latvian Foreign Ministry, United States Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute said that Russia‘s aggressive actions in Crimea and Donbas had completely changed the rules of the game. NATO must therefore prepare for future challenges and offer the necessary support to its partners. […]
Lithuanian government to pay for 2 more diplomats in OSCE mission in Eastern Ukraine
Lithuania’s government on Tuesday earmarked 32,000 euros for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send two additional diplomats to the Organization for Security and Cooperation’s (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission to Eastern Ukraine where the country’s governmental forces and Russian-supported separatists have been involved in clashes for over a year. […]
