7 April 2026

Vilnius new-build prices in the economy segment have climbed to about EUR 3,200 per square metre, and listings near EUR 1,800 have almost disappeared. Developers say tighter planning rules, heavier infrastructure requirements and higher construction costs have pushed the market floor sharply higher.

President Gitanas Nauseda is putting Constitutional Court judge Tomas Davulis before parliament to become court chair after three new judges took office on March 19 and Gintaras Goda’s term ended. The coalition council is set to discuss a vote on the Kapciamiestis training ground, while debate is widening over possible budget losses caused by poor coordination between institutions. Border guards prevented 22 irregular migrants from entering Lithuania in a day, and officers at the Purvenai border post in Varena district shot down a drone from Belarus on April 6 carrying contraband cigarettes. A new Portuguese troop rotation is also beginning service at the Kaisiadorys training ground.

Lithuania’s general government deficit stood at 1.8% of GDP in 2024, while debt reached 39.5% of GDP. Insolvencies are rising, and retail companies account for a large share of bankruptcies recorded in 2025. Municipalities are weighing plans to expand municipal housing with business partners, and electricity prices in Lithuania rose 13% over the past week.

Strong winds on April 7 brought down trees across Lithuania, sending firefighters to dozens of callouts to clear roads and remove broken branches. Vilnius police searched for Probation Service director Romas Ostanavicius after he left home following a family dispute, but he later appeared at a police station and the case was not linked to criminal activity. Police in Kaunas are still searching for a 13-year-old boy who disappeared over Easter and was last seen in green clothes on a scooter with two friends. In Kaunas, a detained man smashed the doors at a police station, while in Sakiai investigators are examining suspected arson at store premises.

President Gitanas Nausėda urged the ruling coalition to rethink its lineup if Nemuno aušra does not back the Kapčiamiestis training ground project. He said the first warning bell over the coalition’s future has already sounded.

Russia launched 110 drones at Ukraine overnight on April 7, and Ukraine said it shot down 77, though strikes still hit at least six locations. The latest wave of attacks killed at least eight people and injured 52 across several Ukrainian regions. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian strikes on April 6 killed a child and wounded five people, including another minor. In Odesa, the same barrage killed two adults and a 2-year-old child.

Ukraine has also kept up pressure on Russia’s oil sector, damaging the Primorsk export terminal near St Petersburg and a Lukoil refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Earlier Ukrainian strikes had already cut Russian refining capacity by 20%. Kyiv has proposed a mutual ceasefire on energy facilities, but Kremlin loyalists are publicly rejecting compromise, while Moscow is accusing the Baltic states of allowing their airspace to be used for Ukrainian strikes. The Washington Post reported that Russia began passing Iran target intelligence on March 6 for possible strikes on US forces in the Middle East.

NATO’s central European agenda remains active, with J. D. Vance due in Budapest for talks with Viktor Orban. In Lithuania, a new Portuguese troop rotation has started joint exercises with allied forces. In the Baltic economy, Compensa Vienna Insurance Group raised revenue 14% last year to €269.2mn, moving into the region’s top three insurers by revenue. Rail Baltica has started design work on the Kaunas hub, one of the most complex sections of the future line.

In northern France on April 7, a high-speed train travelling at 160 kph hit a military truck at a level crossing. The crash killed the driver and injured 27 people, and prosecutors opened a manslaughter investigation.

War analysts say Russia is trying to create conditions for a new assault on a city in Ukraine. At the same time, Moscow said Ukraine had begun strikes with a new type of weapon, while German media reported that the crew of a US fighter jet shot down in Iran is being treated in Germany.

Iran sent Washington a 10-point proposal on April 6 through intermediaries to end the war with the United States and Israel, but it rejected a separate 45-day ceasefire draft. On April 7, Iranian state media reported blasts in southern Tehran, the Parchin military area and at Khorramabad International Airport, while Donald Trump threatened strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure, power plants and bridges unless Tehran accepted U.S. terms.

The same day, Israeli strikes hit a petrochemical plant in the South Pars gas field, and more than 25 people were killed in U.S. and Israeli attacks. The Philippine foreign ministry said a second Filipino national was killed when a rocket hit a residential building in northern Israel. In Washington, Trump again questioned NATO’s value and said Vladimir Putin is not afraid of the alliance ahead of the June summit. In Ukraine, a Russian strike on a city bus killed 3 people and injured 12.

Taiwan’s opposition leader made a rare visit to China as political tensions deepen in Taipei over ties with Beijing. In Australia, a soldier was arrested over alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. In Panama, an explosion at the Panama Canal killed one person, with authorities still assessing the impact on shipping. The World Health Organization halted the evacuation of patients from Gaza.

NASA’s Artemis II mission completed a lunar flyby and reached the greatest distance from Earth by a crewed mission since the Apollo era.

Lebanon’s health minister said the death toll from fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has surpassed 1,500. The White House moved to calm concerns over possible US action against Iran’s nuclear sites, while Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.