11 June 2026

Lithuania received a new batch of Swedish Bolide missiles on Thursday for its RBS-70 short-range air-defence systems. The Defence Ministry said the 7 million-euro delivery is part of a broader 320 million-euro Saab contract, with the missiles able to hit targets at up to 9 km and cover ammunition needs for about six years.

Parliament on Thursday approved the participation of up to 40 Lithuanian troops and civilian defence staff in maritime security operations in the Strait of Hormuz. Defence officials say Lithuania’s first practical contribution would most likely be mine-clearing capabilities in the waters of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Lawmakers are also weighing how to compensate state losses when soldiers shoot down drones and are debating plans to amend a key article of the constitution. Officials discussed how airports would direct people into terminals during an air-raid alert.

In Vilnius, police activated the Skydas bomb-disposal protocol at an SEB bank building on Thursday after staff reported an object resembling an explosive device. The interior ministry the same day outlined tighter protection for critical infrastructure, including better monitoring and anti-drone capabilities. A Vilnius court was separately hearing the case against Antanas Kandrotas, known as Celofanas, on earlier charges linked to public-order offences and hate speech.

In energy, Lithuania produced more electricity than it consumed for the first time in 15 years. In technology, a breakthrough for Lithuanian-language AI was announced with the creation of a 10,000-hour speech corpus.

Late in the evening, attention stayed on coalition talks: the leaders of the Social Democrats and Democrats said after a second round that they were satisfied with progress and expect to wrap up decisions next week. At the same time, opposition figures Aurelijus Veryga and Virginijus Sinkevičius pointed to the key unresolved issue: whether the LSDP leader will herself take over the prime minister’s post.

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, under Russian occupation, lost external power again today after its last remaining high-voltage line from the Ukrainian grid went down. The IAEA said the site is back on diesel generators to cool six shut-down reactors and spent fuel. Power had only been restored on June 6 after a 15-hour outage, and the plant also briefly lost off-site supply on June 3 after a drone strike near the Nikopol substation.

Fresh explosions were reported across occupied Crimea over the past 24 hours, including around Feodosia, where local channels said air defences were active against drones. Ukrainian forces also struck a convoy of about 50 Russian fuel and ammunition trucks in Crimea and hit four bridges on the peninsula. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted fuel depots, rail links and other logistics nodes in Crimea in recent weeks. Russia’s fuel infrastructure on the mainland was also hit again, with a fire at Rosneft’s Kuibyshev refinery in Samara region and another blaze at the Afipsky refinery in Krasnodar region, which processes about 6.25 million tonnes of crude a year.

Near Kostiantynivka in Donetsk region, Ukrainian forces remain under severe pressure as Russian units push on several axes and threaten supply routes into the city. Ukrainian sources have said evacuation of the wounded and resupply in that sector have come under constant fire in recent weeks. Separately, Vladimir Putin said yesterday that 100,000 troops were taking part in the joint Russia-Belarus Zapad drills, while reporting from Finland said Russia is building a new 4,000-6,000 troop garrison in Karelia near the Finnish border.

In Moscow, Putin today brushed aside Russia’s sharp investment slowdown, despite what has been described as the country’s deepest slump in 17 years. In Spain, China’s MG Europe said it would build its first plant in the country.

Russia is building new bases near NATO borders and reinforcing forces, which Western and Ukrainian experts link to preparations for a new winter offensive. NATO’s top commander in Europe said any Russian attack on the Baltic states would fail.

Iran fired 12 missiles over the past day at US military sites in Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq, with most intercepted by US and allied air defences. US forces struck Iranian radar sites on Wednesday after shooting down drones headed toward the Strait of Hormuz. Kuwait said the same day it was responding to hostile missile and drone attacks, days after a strike on its international airport killed one person and wounded dozens.

Tehran has again restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and tied any reopening to an agreement with Washington. Iran also said only vessels from friendly states would receive safe passage, while others could face obstruction. The waterway normally carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows, so even a partial closure is pushing up export disruption risks, freight rates and insurance costs across the Gulf.

Wall Street fell on Thursday after US May inflation came in at 2.4% year on year, with core inflation at 2.8%. Higher Treasury yields hit technology shares, and investors are now looking to the next Federal Reserve meeting and labour data for clues on rate cuts. World Athletics’ season list on Thursday showed Auburn hurdler Ja’Kobe Tharp leading the men’s 110m hurdles with 13.05 seconds, while fellow American Jamar Marshall had already run 13.04 earlier this month.

Scientists this week renewed attention to the cold blob south of Greenland, a patch linked to a weakening Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Researchers say the North Atlantic area has been cooling for more than a century even as most of the ocean warms.

Part of the Pentagon was briefly locked down after a report of a hazardous materials incident, but the Pentagon later said the threat was false and lifted some restrictions. Donald Trump said he may cancel strikes on Iran and hinted at a possible deal, though Tehran has not confirmed any agreed text. FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup has begun, with 48 teams competing across three countries for the first time.