13 May 2026

Lithuania this spring signed a 6.375 billion-euro SAFE defence financing deal, and the Finance Ministry says it could generate up to 1.4 billion euros of business for local companies. Another financing move emerged today as Lithuania borrowed 1 billion euros on international markets. Lithuania’s first-quarter GDP growth was also among the fastest in the European Union.

President Gitanas Nauseda has kept security at the top of the agenda after his Vilnius meeting with Kyrylo Budanov and February’s agreement with Volodymyr Zelenskiy to launch production in Lithuania of defence systems for Ukraine. Nauseda will travel to Romania in the coming days for a summit of Bucharest Nine and Nordic leaders. He also issued a blunt warning that Lithuanian territory must not be used for drone strikes.

Lion Ceccah put Lithuania into the Eurovision final in Vienna with “Sólo quiero más” and said after the semi-final that his team had “made history”. His performance drew a strong reaction from viewers and media, and the team is weighing staging changes before Saturday’s 26-act final. In parliament, the Culture Committee is preparing to back a bill to overhaul LRT’s governance model, while in Jonava district a decorative stone company plans a 5.5 million-euro motor parts plant.

One of the day’s strongest human stories was Viktoria, 13, who survived stage 4 sarcoma and now returns to hospital each year to support children still in treatment. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office and Lithuania’s FNTT are continuing their probe into suspected misuse of EU funds, after searches at locations linked to Vigilijus Jukna following a 15min investigation. In the Kapciamiesciai training ground area, landowners have been sent notices on land seizure for public needs. Police also opened two investigations into parental violence against children in Salcininkai and Vilnius.

Late in the evening, the most significant developments were a raid in a probe into EU-funded training schemes. Lithuania also announced it had borrowed 1 billion euros, while Vilnius public transport plans to borrow up to 110 million euros from the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Volodymyr Zelensky said today that Ukraine, 13 European allies and NATO leadership are building an anti-ballistic coalition. The plan is tied to a common production mandate and would position Ukraine as one of Europe’s key manufacturing hubs for missile defence.

Brussels is tightening a new European defence-finance architecture this week, built around the EU’s €150 billion SAFE loan scheme and wider use of guarantees for military projects. The European Commission and the European Investment Bank are linking the package to Readiness 2030, the push to speed joint arms purchases and expand industrial capacity by the end of the decade. An investigation also found that Russian gas imports into the EU have reached their highest level since the full-scale invasion began.

In Kryvyi Rih, Russian drones hit a residential block last night, killing two members of the same family and critically injuring a nine-month-old baby. Ukraine said it shot down 111 Russian drones over the past day, while Zelensky said Russia had launched at least 800 drones in recent days and killed six people. In Russia’s Krasnodar region, a drone attack hit a port and an oil reservoir, triggering a fire, and a separate strike disabled one of Russia’s largest oil refineries.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said today that one day of war with Russia now costs Kyiv about $450 million. Five robotic units bought through Lithuania’s RADAROM campaign reached Ukrainian troops today for reconnaissance, logistics and casualty evacuation. Germany said today that TikTok’s European operations should be controlled by Europeans. In Moscow, a major fire over the past day hit the Izmailovo Kremlin complex, while Alexander Lukashenko announced rotational mobilisation and said Belarus was preparing for war.

The Kremlin replaced the governors of two Russian regions bordering Ukraine. In Ukraine, at least six people were killed in daytime Russian drone strikes, while Kyiv is also sending experts to Latvia to help strengthen airspace protection after recent drone incidents.

Iran said on Wednesday that Washington must accept Tehran’s 14-point peace plan or face failure. Chief negotiator Mohammadas Bagher Ghalibaf spoke after Donald Trump rejected Iran’s response to a US proposal to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and curb Iran’s nuclear programme. The Pentagon said today that the US war with Iran has now cost $29 billion. Regional reporting also says Iran still retains most of its missile arsenal.

Lebanon’s health ministry said eight people were killed in Israeli strikes south of Beirut today. The Israeli military said it launched a fresh wave of attacks on Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon after issuing new evacuation warnings, despite a ceasefire in the wider war. Lebanese state media also reported a strike on a car on a highway south of Beirut. In Turkey, torrential rain triggered flash flooding in Havza district in Samsun province, sweeping away cars and inundating homes and businesses. Anadolu said 12 people were taken to hospital with minor injuries as firefighters, police and disaster crews rescued stranded residents and cleared roads.

Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Xi Jinping had called him, in a new push to steady the US-China trade fight over tariffs and rare-earth export controls. Beijing has issued no new public readout of the call. The Congressional Budget Office said today that Trump’s proposed Golden Dome missile shield could cost more than $1 trillion over 20 years, far above his $175 billion pitch. In San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama scored 39 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as the Spurs beat the Timberwolves 126-97 to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semi-final series. Former NBA player Jason Collins, the first player in league history to come out publicly as gay, died over the past day after a serious illness.

The US Congress moved toward a new $1.3bn aid package for Ukraine. The US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as the new Federal Reserve chair.