Lithuania
Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Poland call on the EU to increase military spending to 3% of GDP. The countries propose to use joint borrowing and allocate 50 billion euros for the production of artillery.
A 25-year-old woman from Chongqing lost her job because of her cat, which accidentally sent her resignation letter to her boss. Because of this incident, the owner of 9 cats also lost her annual Chinese New Year bonus.
President of Ukraine met with Speaker of the Seimas of Lithuania Saulius Skvernelis. The parties discussed military assistance, sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
Trenches for vehicles and infantry 340 meters long have appeared near the Gozki training ground in the Hrodna region. The Belarusian Ministry of Defense has announced that it will hold exercises at this training ground.
The Lithuanian Foreign Minister announced his readiness to send troops to Ukraine at the request of the Ukrainian side. This issue will be discussed with the allies after an official request from Ukraine.
Lithuania is preparing to transfer 4,500 drones to Ukraine for a total cost of 5 million euros. The government has also simplified the procedure for transferring military aid to speed up support.
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.