In Novosibirsk this week, draft officials are urging students to quit their studies and sign army contracts, as Russia’s recruitment drive has spread to at least 201 universities and colleges. Students are being promised drone-operator roles, but contracts signed under 2022 rules remain valid until the end of mobilization, which the Kremlin has never formally declared over.
Donald Trump said on April 1 that U.S. forces would keep striking Iran “very hard” for another two to three weeks to dismantle Tehran’s military support network and block any path to a nuclear weapon. Ukraine’s General Staff said on April 2 that Russia lost 1,300 troops in the previous 24 hours, pushing Kyiv’s claimed total since February 2022 above 1.3 million. In the Odesa region, Russian drone strikes overnight damaged residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, with fires reported across several districts and crews checking for blackouts and transport disruption. Sweden said on April 2 it would spend 8.7 billion crowns on air-defence and counter-drone systems from Saab and BAE Systems, with deliveries due in 2027 and 2028. At Lithuania’s border with Belarus, guards turned back 35 irregular migrants in the past 24 hours, the highest daily total this year, and firefighters were called in after several people were found in marshland.
In Lithuania, the central bank warned on April 2 that a prolonged fuel-price surge could push inflation as high as 6% in the worst case this year. The finance ministry is preparing a temporary 2-3 month cut in diesel excise duty, and Finance Minister Kristupas Vaitiekūnas said the move has informal backing from the European Commission. Business groups are also calling for a partial restoration of fuel excise relief, ESO said net profit more than halved last year, and analysts warn that Lithuania’s rush into electricity storage projects could leave part of the sector facing losses.
The ECDC said this week that Latvia’s March 19-20 post-outbreak review in Riga, held after its 2025 leptospirosis outbreak, tested how Baltic states and EU experts share data, move specialists and coordinate cross-border responses. Governments worldwide are also preparing to borrow a record amount this year, raising refinancing risks and debt-servicing costs for smaller open economies including Lithuania.