Lithuania
5,000 drones worth 5 million euros purchased by Lithuania for Ukraine have not yet been delivered due to bureaucratic obstacles. The Lithuanian Defense Ministry promises to simplify the transfer procedure and deliver the equipment in the near future.
The former British prime minister called Putin a dirty word because of his imperial ambitions for Ukraine and the Baltic states. Johnson said that Russia is no longer an empire, and this needs to be realized.
Germany is creating a fourth division within the Army to protect critical infrastructure. The new unit will include 6 terror defense regiments with a total of 6,000 personnel.
As part of Operation UNIFIER, the Canadian military has trained more than 43,000 Ukrainian servicemen since 2015. The program includes basic and specialized training to improve the effectiveness of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the battlefield.
In 2024, the language ombudsman received 2,314 complaints about violations of language legislation, which is 37% less than last year. Most violations concerned the lack of a Ukrainian version of websites and services.
Lithuania has stepped up security at energy facilities due to attempts to disrupt the disconnection from the grid by Russia and Belarus. The Baltic states are planning to disconnect from the Soviet energy system next month.
Following an official request from the Lithuanian Broadcasting Commission, Google removed more than 200 blocked websites with Russian channels from its search results. This is part of the fight against disinformation and propaganda by Russian media.
Eight Nordic countries have announced their intention to increase assistance to Moldova after the suspension of Russian gas supplies on January 1, 2025. The NB8 countries praised the Moldovan authorities for their efforts to ensure energy stability.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys showed the destruction of the Lithuanian Honorary Consulate in Kherson after the New Year's attacks by Russia. He called for more air defense equipment to be provided to Ukraine for its defense.
Jan Lipavsky condemned the Russian strike on Kyiv on January 1, which claimed the lives of two people. Lipavsky emphasized the need to punish the aggressor.
Latvia has prepared more than 1,000 combat drones of various types for transfer to Ukraine. In 2025, the country plans to allocate an additional 20 million euros for the purchase of drones as part of a coalition with the United Kingdom.
Denmark, France, and Lithuania have provided Ukraine with more than €150 million for the development of the defense industry. The funds will be used to produce missiles, deep-strike drones, and artillery systems.
In 2024, Ukrainian enterprises produced more than 1. 5 million FPV drones and other types of drones. According to Defense Minister Umerov, 96.2% of all UAVs for the Armed Forces are Ukrainian-made.
In 2024, we launched 18 new Ukrainian-language audio guides to cultural sites around the world. We also donated hundreds of Ukrainian books to libraries in 8 countries as part of the Ukrainian Bookshelves project.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense announced the strengthening of security measures after the detection of damage to underwater communication cables. The Navy has increased patrols, and NATO will increase its military presence in the region.
The President of Ukraine has appointed Yuriy Vitrenko as Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna by Decree No. 881/2024. This appointment is part of a large-scale diplomatic reshuffle in Ukrainian missions abroad.
The belarusian dictator pardoned more than 200 participants in the 2020 protests. Analysts believe that this is an attempt to ease Western sanctions, especially on Belavia and potash fertilizers.
China has provided documents in the case of damaged submarine cables in the Baltic Sea and invited European countries to investigate. The Yi Peng 3 vessel, which was under suspicion, resumed operations after a month's downtime.
Gitanas Nausėda criticized the Slovak prime minister for meeting with Putin on gas transit. Fico explained the visit by Ukraine's reluctance to continue transiting Russian gas after 2024.
The President of Ukraine dismissed ambassadors to Rwanda, Kenya, Slovenia, China, Indonesia, Japan, and Lithuania. New diplomats have been appointed in their place, in particular in Rwanda, the Philippines, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia, and Congo.
Ukraine's Defense Minister Umerov meets with Lithuania's newly appointed Defense Minister Šakalienė in Kyiv. The two sides discussed military cooperation for 2025, including the supply of drones and electronic warfare equipment.
President of Ukraine meets with Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Palutskas on military cooperation. Lithuania annually allocates 0.25% of GDP to Ukraine's defense needs.
The entire Lithuanian government arrived in Kyiv. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys declared his support for Ukraine until victory.
A Lithuanian Beechcraft plane was detained at Helsinki airport on suspicion of circumventing sanctions. The plane was planning an unusual route to Pskov via Helsinki instead of a direct flight from Latvia.
A letter with a white powder of unknown origin was found in a Kaunas school, leading to the evacuation of 300 people. Rescuers wearing protective suits collected the substance for testing in a laboratory.
The Czech Senate has recognized the mass deportation of Crimean Tatars as an act of genocide. The decision was supported by 70 senators out of 76 present, joining other countries that had previously made a similar recognition.
Ukraine's German repair center for large military equipment will be moved from Slovakia to Germany by the end of the year. The repair center has been operating in Slovakia since the end of 2022.
Latvia is testing the combat readiness of the National Armed Forces. Military equipment and personnel are being deployed to different locations to perform combat missions.
During a visit to Berlin, the Lithuanian Defense Minister agreed on the largest purchase of military equipment in the country's history. Lithuania will purchase 44 German Leopard-2 tanks.
Latvian basketball player Janis Timma was found dead in a residential building in the center of Moscow. According to media reports, the 32-year-old athlete committed suicide after his divorce from Anna Sedokova.