Lithuania’s Ministry of Defence has tripled funding for the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, a paramilitary non-profit, with funds earmarked for procuring weapons and equipment. The Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union has been allocated up to 4.8 million euros in additional funding this year, which is a three-fold increase compared to last year. The Union, the main activity of…
As of July 1, flavoured electronic cigarettes are no longer available in Lithuania. The new ban aims to tackle the rise in smoking among teenagers and children. “The use of electronic cigarettes among teenagers aged 15 to 16 is one of the highest in Europe, second only to Monaco,” said Grazina Belian, interim head of…
The European Commission has not yet taken a decision on Kaliningrad transit sanctions, Lithuanian MEP Petras Austrevicius has said. “On June 30, European Commission officials, in response to my request to discuss the Kaliningrad transit issue in the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs, confirmed that there was currently no final decision on the matter,” he…
Lithuania’s state-owned railway company Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai (LTG) has informed its customers that new sanctions will take effect on more goods transiting between Russia and Kaliningrad in July. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte says that “various reactions” can be expected from Moscow. Based on information from the Lithuanian Customs Department, the ban on the transit of cement,…
Minsk wants to relaunch passenger train services to Vilnius, halted two years ago due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Lithuania’s state-owned railway company says it does not plan to do so either this year or in 2023. “Passenger train services between Vilnius and Minsk hadbeen suspended since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic began,” Kotryna Dzikaraite,…
Lithuania and the United Kingdom are discussing opportunities to open direct flights between Vilnius and London Heathrow. Transport Minister Marius Skuodis and UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in London on the development of air services and discussed the possibility of direct flights between Vilnius and Heathrow airports, the Transport…
Germany’s Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann opened Lithuania Defense Services (LDS), a centre for servicing military vehicles, in the central town of Jonava on June 29. The centre will provide logistical and maintenance services for combat vehicles owned by Lithuania and its NATO allies, the Defence Ministry and the Lithuanian Armed Forces say. “Allied deployments in…