28 May 2026

Vilnius lawmakers yesterday left unresolved a proposal to change how residents are informed about shelters, after the bill’s backers warned that a real emergency could jam entrances and block access. Defence debate intensified today as a Harvard Belfer Center study outlined Russian aggression scenarios on NATO’s eastern flank, including one in which Vilnius could be encircled during a broader push through the Baltics. The model assumes Moscow could test NATO with a limited strike if Western attention is stretched and the US role in Europe weakens.

Lithuania’s Constitutional Court today examined a challenge by jailed former youth mentor Remigijus Jakštys over parole rules. Jakštys, convicted in 2021 for abusing four minors, wants courts to be allowed to make an individual assessment of risk and rehabilitation for him and for others convicted of similar offences. If the court orders changes, parliament could be given six months to amend the prison code.

In Kedainiai, the bridge over the Nevėžis has reopened after a reconstruction lasting nearly four years and costing 4 million euros, but services are still monitoring traffic flows and the carriageway. The district is also tied to a 35 million euro investment plan for a potato starch plant, one of the larger new industrial projects in the area. Parliament has also reopened a dispute over Lithuania’s second pension pillar, with Algirdas Sysas pushing to scrap the 1.5% state top-up even though the 2026 budget allocates 278 million euros for it. The Bank of Lithuania and other experts warn that removing the subsidy could trigger withdrawals and leave savers with lower retirement income.

In business, Kaunas has received the first store in the new Assorti by Livin format. After Ogmios centras bought Bio sala from BaltCap Growth Fund, the group said it plans three larger Assorti by Livin outlets and 17 smaller Livin stores while targeting 25% EBITDA growth and 10% higher revenue.

Seimas member and London Olympic silver medallist Jevgenijus Šuklinas has died. He was 41. President Gitanas Nausėda and the prime minister expressed condolences.

Two people were killed in a Russian drone attack in Ukraine’s Sumy region. In the Odesa region, Russian strike drones overnight damaged a residential building and an infrastructure facility in the south of the region, where emergency crews are assessing the impact. In Kherson, a Russian strike on a children’s playground in the Korabelnyi district yesterday killed one man and injured four people, including two girls and their mother. Local officials later identified the dead man as the children’s father.

Volodymyr Zelensky said today that he had approved new long-range operations against Russia and tied them to raising the war’s cost for Moscow after earlier strikes on oil infrastructure. Off Turkey’s Black Sea coast today, drones hit three tankers linked to Russia’s sanctions-busting oil trade. Turkish authorities said one vessel suffered an explosion and flooding damage, and Ankara warned both Moscow and Kyiv to keep energy infrastructure out of the war in its economic zone.

Washington and European capitals have spent the past day re-examining Pentagon plans to cut the US troop presence in Europe. NATO allies fear a smaller American footprint could expose the Baltic states and Poland and are weighing whether they can assume more air-defence, intelligence and logistics duties on the eastern flank. Berlin said Germany and the Netherlands will establish a NATO tactical headquarters in the Baltic states. Sweden is preparing to donate 16 Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, while Kyiv plans to buy up to 20 more.

The European Commission today fined Temu 200 million euros after finding the platform allowed illegal and unsafe products, including baby toys and electronics accessories, to reach EU shoppers. In Germany yesterday, Crystal Palace won the UEFA Europa Conference League final and secured the first European trophy in the club’s history.

The Financial Times reports that the European Union is seeking powers to control chip supplies during a crisis. Kaja Kallas said the EU will not act as a neutral intermediary between Ukraine and Russia. A heatwave across Europe has claimed lives.

U.S. forces struck southern Iran today after downing attack drones over Iranian airspace, U.S. Central Command said. Iranian state media reported explosions around Bandar Abbas near the Strait of Hormuz, while the Revolutionary Guards said they had downed a U.S. drone and fired on an F-35 fighter.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said yesterday they had hit a U.S. base in the region in response to earlier American strikes on Iranian targets. Kuwait said over the past day that it had detected a missile and drone attack in its airspace. Iranian forces also fired on four ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, and Washington today imposed fresh sanctions on an Iranian body seeking control over shipping through the waterway. The Revolutionary Guards also warned of a “firm response” if the United States repeats its strikes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday ordered the army to seize 70% of the Gaza Strip after Israeli forces had already established control over about 60% of the enclave. Israeli media said the move was intended to increase pressure on Hamas over hostages and disarmament, while the army prepares for a new phase of fighting in Gaza City and the central camps.

Oil prices rose after the new U.S. strikes on Iran, even as China’s oil imports fell to 2016 levels. In Kenya, a dormitory fire at Utumishi Girls School in Gilgil killed 16 students overnight and injured another 79. NASA said today it had identified 10,091 new exoplanet candidates in TESS data after using machine learning to sift signals from 84 million stars.

Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel plans to expand military control in the Gaza Strip. Late in the evening, Israel struck a target in Beirut again, while the US and Iran agreed to extend a ceasefire pending Donald Trump’s approval.