27 May 2026

Gitanas Nausėda convened the State Defence Council today after drone incursions into Lithuanian and neighbouring airspace. The council is reviewing Lithuania’s and the region’s security picture and the rollout of an integrated airspace defence system, while the president said Lithuania would shoot down intruding aerial targets even with costly missiles.

Parliament’s national security committee has already asked the defence ministry and the armed forces for hard numbers on what is needed to protect Lithuanian skies from drones. After the council meeting, Nausėda said Lithuania would buy 936 Finnish-made Patria armoured vehicles by 2030, including spare parts and maintenance, with part of the work going to Lithuanian companies. The armed forces are also presenting a plan today to expand long-range capabilities in a new Lithuanian Army unit. Public debate has also turned to a broader general mobilisation model.

In central Kaunas today, firefighters, police and bomb disposal teams were sent to the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union building after a report of a possible explosive device and the activation of the “Shield” plan. The presidency said yesterday that the theft of citizens’ data from the Centre of Registers had become a national security issue, and Prosecutor General Nida Grunskienė said the case already has victims. LRT reported that hundreds of thousands of records may have been copied over several months, including data on the army chief, and Nausėda said there were signs of an attack organised by a hostile foreign state.

Yesterday, 15min reported that a Palanga flat linked to the Pinskuvienė family was bought for less than the sum long cited in public debate. In sport, a Lithuanian athlete won European Championship gold on the track today.

Lithuania's armed forces are forming specialized drone units, while the defence system is preparing to buy nearly 1,000 Finnish Patria armoured vehicles. Late in the evening, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Lithuania, underscoring the importance of security in the Baltic states.

Poland summoned the Russian ambassador on Monday and delivered a protest note over Moscow’s threats against Kyiv and foreign diplomats based there. Warsaw demanded that Russia end its aggression against Ukraine, withdraw its forces and pay compensation for war damage.

Ukraine is assessing whether Russia used two Oreshnik hypersonic medium-range missiles in Saturday’s mass strike on Kyiv. Volodymyr Zelenskiy said three Russian missiles also hit Bila Tserkva, while the wider barrage totalled 600 drones and 90 missiles. Over the past day, Russian attacks also injured three civilians in the Kherson region. In Chernihiv, strikes damaged a company and at least 15 explosions were heard across the city.

On Tuesday, a Russian strike hit a sailing vessel on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, even though Ukraine said it had no fuel left and was no longer used for combat tasks. Kyiv described the vessel as civilian or auxiliary and linked the attack to pressure on the Black Sea shoreline and port activity. On Monday, Ukraine used British-made Storm Shadow missiles against targets in Russia’s Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions, where fires and columns of black smoke were reported after strikes on military infrastructure and energy sites.

Kyiv warned on Tuesday that Russia and Belarus could be preparing a new northern offensive and said its military had identified 500 potential targets in Belarus if Minsk entered the war. The warning followed joint Russia-Belarus nuclear drills on May 18-21 that tested warhead delivery to field storage sites and missile-unit readiness. The European Union is also shifting investment priorities toward defence and critical infrastructure. At the Ice Hockey World Championship, the quarter-final lineup is set, with Latvia to face Norway.

Russian shelling of a playground in Kherson killed one person. Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia is preparing a new mobilization and urged Donald Trump to step up support for Ukraine urgently.

Israel struck a target in Gaza today linked to Hamas’ new military chief, Khaled al-Haddad. The Israeli military said he took over after Mohammad Sinwar was killed in May 2025 and helped plan the October 7 attack.

Russia launched missiles and drones at Kyiv over the past two days, with explosions and fires reported across several districts of the capital. Ukrainian officials ordered residents into shelters after Moscow warned of further strikes on Kyiv. In southern Lebanon, Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters clashed yesterday north of the Litani River, an area that was meant to remain demilitarised under the truce. Lebanese officials also said 31 people were killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo to tighten border checks over the Ebola outbreak. The flare-up is tied to the rare Bundibugyo strain, and WHO has already declared a public health emergency of international concern in DR Congo and Uganda. Iran carried out the execution of a 28-year-old woman today after she was convicted of murder in a case tied to a 2020 dispute with her former husband. Rights groups say Iran carried out at least 1,639 executions in 2025 under the qisas retributive justice system.

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi reiterated over the past day his call for the United States and Iran to find a compromise in stalled nuclear talks. In Laos, five gold miners were found alive in a flooded cave after a week-long search.

The Israeli military urged nearly all residents of Tyre in southern Lebanon to evacuate and declared the area south of the Zahrani river a combat zone. Strikes hit near Tyre shortly after the warning. Uganda closed its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo over an Ebola outbreak.