Latvia has officially completed the construction of 280 km of engineering barriers on the border with Russia. This is the first stage of a comprehensive protection system, which is supplemented by modern video surveillance and technical monitoring systems.
The Lithuanian authorities decided to extend until January 2, 2027, temporary restrictions on the transit by road of certain dual-use goods. This is done to prevent their use in the war against Ukraine and to strengthen European security.
The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania and Spain condemned Russia's massive night attack on Ukraine, calling it a deliberate campaign of terror against the civilian population. They emphasized that the shelling during the Christmas period is another attempt by Moscow to escalate the conflict.
Lithuania officially completed the procedure of withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on December 27, which allows it to use and produce anti-personnel mines. The country plans to spend hundreds of millions of euros on the purchase and production of tens of thousands of units of ammunition.
The President of Poland was informed about the incident with objects from Belarus and the interception of a Russian aircraft. An analysis of the events, which may be a provocation, is underway.
According to Flightradar, Santa has already visited Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Sweden. He continues his journey across Europe.
The draw for the group stage of the 2026/2027 Nations League will take place on February 12, 2026, in Brussels. The Ukrainian national team will compete in League B.
Switzerland has deported about 100 Ukrainian refugees, including the large Bohachuk family from Kharkiv, who were denied protection status S due to their previous stay in Lithuania. The Swiss migration service is demanding that they urgently leave the country, despite two years of living in Geneva and the children's adaptation to local schools.
Several citizens of Belarus, Russia, and Lithuania are suspected of transferring EU-funded technologies to Russia's military industry. Five individuals and one company have been notified of suspicion, and more than ten searches have been conducted in various cities of Lithuania.
The European Commission has successfully transferred a thermal power plant from Lithuania to Ukraine. This will provide electricity to approximately 1 million Ukrainians, restoring critical energy capacities.
US President Donald Trump will sign into law on December 18 the defense policy bill for fiscal year 2026, which regulates military pay raises and measures to respond to geopolitical threats, and also provides for the allocation of $800 million to Ukraine for the purchase of American weapons.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that the EU plan to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine is “dead. ” According to him, not enough leaders supported the idea.
Information about 360,000 Russian troops in Belarus is not true. According to the Center for Countering Disinformation and Lithuanian intelligence, only a few thousand Russian servicemen are there.
The Latvian government will allocate 2. 42 million euros to strengthen the protection of Riga Airport from unauthorized drone flights. The project envisages the introduction of modern technologies for detecting, identifying, tracking and neutralizing drones.
Lithuanian authorities have arrested 21 individuals allegedly linked to a criminal network that smuggled cigarettes from Belarus using weather balloons. The operation involved over 80 searches and the seizure of contraband goods, luxury cars, and weapons.
The "Ramstein-32" meeting brought Ukraine record financial commitments for 2026, including 11. 5 billion euros from Germany and 7 billion dollars from Norway. Partner countries also transferred new Patriot and IRIS-T air defense systems, and allocated funds for drones, artillery, and ammunition.
The US President called the bloc's members 'weak', but joint action on funding for Ukraine would send a 'very strong signal', according to Kaja Kallas.
In Volyn, border guards discovered a balloon with 1,500 packs of Belarusian cigarettes, likely destined for Poland. The value of the contraband is about 90 thousand hryvnias.
A transnational network of fraudulent call centers operating in Kyiv, Dnipro, and Ivano-Frankivsk has been liquidated in Ukraine. The perpetrators defrauded EU citizens of over 50 million hryvnias using "vishing" and other schemes.
Leaders of eight EU countries bordering Russia will demand targeted defense funding in the next long-term budget of the bloc at a summit in Helsinki. This is due to growing concerns about Russia's aggressive actions, which are testing their borders.
The European Union does not plan to lift sanctions on Belarus, said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas. This decision was made despite the fact that on December 13, the US announced the lifting of sanctions on Belarusian potash, which had been in effect since 2021.
Yuriy Kostyshyn, a 48-year-old photographer and serviceman known as "Kit Kharakternyk," died in battles for Ukraine's independence. He served in the 93rd and 44th brigades, participated in the defense of Kyiv, and had personal exhibitions of his front-line photographs.
EU ambassadors in Brussels today are discussing the European Commission's amendments to the reparations loan proposal for financing Ukraine. These amendments aim to address the concerns of Belgium, as well as Italy, Bulgaria, and Malta, who are calling for alternative options.
The European Union has expanded sanctions against Belarus to include hybrid hostile actions against neighboring countries. The new criterion allows for restrictions to be imposed on companies and individuals involved in actions that threaten the EU's democracy, rule of law, stability, or security.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo is convening a summit in Helsinki to develop concrete measures to strengthen EU defense. Leaders of eight countries will discuss cooperation and forming a common position to secure funding.
Russia continues a large-scale campaign to falsify historical memory, using pseudo-historical "research" for informational influence on neighboring states. In particular, in 2025, the Moscow State Institute of International Relations published a 400-page "History of Lithuania" with a preface by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenka released 123 prisoners, including Ales Bialiatski and Maria Kalesnikava, in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions on Belarusian potash. Nine of those released were taken to Lithuania, and 114 to Ukraine.
From August to November 2025, almost 186,000 messages with offensive and discriminatory statements about Ukraine were recorded in the Polish-language segment of social networks. This is almost twice as many as in the previous similar period, with 92% of such posts appearing on the X platform.
US President Donald Trump's special envoy John Cole announced that Alexander Lukashenka promised to stop balloon flights over Lithuania after negotiations with the US. Earlier, Lithuania declared a state of emergency due to these flights.
Ukraine received 114 civilians, including 5 Ukrainians and Belarusian political figures such as Maria Alexandrova and Viktor Babariko. The exchange took place with the assistance of American partners and the Coordination Headquarters.
