8 June 2026

Vilnius Airport temporarily halted operations today after air traffic specialists detected balloon-like signals in a sensitive area. The restrictions were linked to contraband balloons drifting in from Belarus, and some passengers may be rerouted through Kaunas or Riga.

Flights at Vilnius Airport were also stopped on Saturday evening and overnight after monitors picked up a possible drone in two separate incidents. The first disruption lasted about 30 minutes, while the second caused delays but no cancellations. Lithuania’s armed forces also began the Strong Shield 2 field exercise today with the National Defence Volunteer Force’s Darius and Girėnas District 2nd Unit. The drill is the final stage of a three-year training cycle testing territorial defence tasks set out in state defence plans.

At the Belarus border, Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service has now recorded eight straight days without turning back a single irregular migrant. Latvia, by contrast, said it turned back 94 people on the same day, while Lithuania has blocked more than 24,600 illegal entries since the crisis began. In Vilnius, the president’s office said on Monday that Gitanas Nausėda was not told about the Registry Centre data breach, even though Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė and some ministers knew in April. Former Registry Centre chief Adrijus Jusas said the large-scale leak was detected in early April, but the public warning was delayed because of a criminal investigation, and the opposition is now pressing for accountability.

Media report that a Lithuanian cleric has been detained in Belarus. Meanwhile, branches of the Democratic Union “For Lithuania” are voting on a possible return to the ruling coalition, with some local leaders already backing talks.

Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that Ukraine is ready to freeze the current front line as the fastest route to a ceasefire, but will not surrender Donbas. He met Keir Starmer in London the same day, while European leaders said Europe must be included in any talks and must reinforce Ukraine’s air defences. Britain, France and Germany have in recent days coordinated a plan to push Vladimir Putin into direct talks with Ukraine after US-led mediation stalled. The Kremlin today rejected Europe’s demand that any negotiations start with a ceasefire and concrete security guarantees for Kyiv.

Zelensky told Sky News that Roman Abramovich has been passing messages to Putin, maintaining an active back channel between Moscow and Kyiv. In Russian-occupied Crimea today, a Ukrainian drone hit a passenger train locomotive on the Moscow-Simferopol route, killing the assistant driver and wounding the driver. Rail traffic was halted on several sections of Crimea after the strike, disrupting a corridor used for both civilian and military transport to southern Russia. Overnight, Ukraine said it neutralized 124 of 155 Russian drones, though some got through because of air-defence gaps and electronic jamming.

Ukrainian forces also struck a strategic Russian oil pipeline node and attacked the bridge to Crimea. In Zaporizhzhia, two people were killed in a Russian drone attack, while in Nikopol one person was killed and four were injured in a separate Russian strike. Over eastern Latvia today, a French Rafale on NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a drone after scrambling from Šiauliai, the first such interception in Latvia. In Spain, authorities are tightening alcohol restrictions in some tourist areas to curb drunken holiday crowds.

Four people were killed and more than 30 injured in the latest Russian strikes on Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone call with Donald Trump’s envoys, while Berlin said Europe was ready to take the lead in talks with Vladimir Putin.

Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir said today that Israel would hit Iran very hard once authorised. Israeli officials have already cleared the military to target senior Iranian figures without fresh political approval after overnight Iranian rocket fire. Military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said yesterday that Tehran had made a huge mistake by launching several waves of ballistic missiles after an earlier Israeli strike in Beirut. Schools across Israel were closed today, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Operation Nasr struck the Nevatim and Tel Nof air bases.

The Israeli military said today it had struck military targets in western and central Iran, and explosions were heard in Tehran. Iran threatened to widen its response with new weapons, while regional airspace restrictions pointed to the risk of a broader military clash. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said today that any fresh strikes in Iran could push the conflict beyond Israel and Iran and derail nuclear diplomacy.

A magnitude 7.8 offshore earthquake hit the southern Philippines today, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 100. The quake struck at a depth of about 63 km, and rescue teams are checking coastal towns for tsunami damage and landslides.

Donald Trump walked out of an NBC interview at the White House today after questions turned to his election-fraud claims. He had earlier taken questions on his Iran strategy and on repeated weather-related disruptions during the exchange.

The pope called for a thorough investigation into sexual abuse cases in the Catholic Church. Reuters reported that Russia will cut oil exports because of fuel shortages on the domestic market.