The United States has confirmed deployment of a new rotation of troops to Lithuania after President Gitanas Nausėda personally appealed to President Donald Trump to maintain forces on NATO's eastern flank. The announcement comes as Lithuania reveals it has prepared evacuation plans in response to Russian threats.
Lithuania has prepared a detailed evacuation plan for its population in the event of a military threat, according to a new report. The plan comes as leaders along NATO's eastern flank issue urgent warnings about potential Russian aggression.
The Pentagon is conducting a review of U.S. military presence in Europe that could result in withdrawing 25,000 to 40,000 American troops, prompting concern among NATO allies. A Senate Democrat has called for State Department involvement in the review, while Lithuania's foreign minister says he received assurances the reductions will be temporary.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against five Russian intelligence operatives accused of orchestrating murder-for-hire plots and attacks around the world, including a $25,000 contract to kill a dissident in Lithuania and a plot targeting a Kremlin critic in Washington, D.C. All suspects remain at large.
NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace overnight Tuesday, while in a separate incident a Russian warship fired emergency flares at a Danish military helicopter tracking the vessel. The incidents mark the latest tensions on NATO's eastern flank amid the ongoing Ukraine war.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe held talks in Moscow with Russian intelligence counterparts on Tuesday in a rare secretive visit aimed at easing regional tensions and warning against attacks on NATO allies and cooperation with Iran. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda confirmed his country had been informed of the visit in advance.
Austrian authorities dismantled an international network in which a Vienna-based company supplied equipment for Russian missile and fighter jet engines through shell companies across multiple countries, violating EU sanctions. The scheme used intermediaries in Turkey, UAE, Hong Kong, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Poland, Lithuania, and Spain to circumvent sanctions imposed in 2022.
Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland are tightening security around critical infrastructure including dams, power plants, and gas facilities, fearing Russia may stage a false-flag attack using Ukrainian drones to destabilize NATO. The concern intensified after a drone with explosives breached defenses at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport, a key NATO hub, on August 4.
Russia accused Latvia and other Baltic states of planning to host Ukrainian drone launches and warned of military retaliation, prompting Latvia to dismiss the claims as 'pure fiction.' The tensions coincided with Lithuania shutting down Vilnius airspace due to suspected drone incursions, with EU leaders vowing a response.
