13 June 2026

Archived edition

Lithuania

Summary

Lithuania lifted its air-raid alert today after a suspected drone spotted near the Belarus border vanished from radar. The National Crisis Management Centre and the military are still checking whether the object penetrated deeper into Lithuanian airspace, while search and verification work continues in border and eastern districts.

The alert was declared yesterday morning in Vilnius County, and warning messages also went to residents in Ignalina, Utena, Zarasai, Svencionys and Alytus counties. Airspace over Vilnius airport was briefly closed during the incident, search teams were deployed near Gudziai in Varena district, and the army had warned of a possible air threat and the potential scrambling of NATO fighter jets.

Kaunas' Lituanica today finished the 2026 European Baseball Federations Cup in Kaunas with a win over Zurich Barracudas. The tournament ran from June 10 to June 13 at the VDU Valdas Adamkus Sports Centre, where Lituanica also faced clubs from Bratislava and Rybnik.

Lithuania's Dovilė Juodkaitė was elected yesterday to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which monitors implementation of the 2006 disability rights convention. In Lithuania over the past day, a minor riding an electric bicycle died in Vilnius, while hospital emergency departments are reporting a record influx of injuries as warmer weather sets in.

Lithuania’s fintech sector paid €310mn in taxes this spring, and Checkout.com has opened a technology hub in the country. Bank of Lithuania data show four investment-firm licences are now active for companies serving clients across the European Union.

In Jonava, a gunman opened fire on police officers. A large-scale search was launched in the city. President Gitanas Nausėda was rushed from a football pitch to a shelter after a threat forced matches to stop.

sources: delfi.lt, 15min.lt, tv3.lt, lrytas.lt, vz.lt

Air threat declared in Vilnius County due to possible drone in Lithuania

At about 10 a.m. on June 11, 2026, Vilnius County was placed under an air threat after a drone was spotted near the Belarus border and may have entered Lithuanian airspace. Alert messages were also sent to residents in Ignalina, Utena, Zarasai, Švenčionys and Alytus counties, and airspace over Vilnius airport was briefly closed. The National Crisis Management Centre later said search teams were working near Gudžiai in the Varėna district, but the drone’s fate remained unclear.

Why it matters

For air passengers at Vilnius airport, the alert meant delays and uncertainty, while residents in eastern Lithuania were told to move to shelters at short notice. The episode showed how a single unmanned aircraft can disrupt civil aviation and public safety across several regions at once.

sources:15min.lt

Politics

Air raid warning canceled over possible drone entering Lithuania

Lithuania lifted the air-raid alert on June 13, 2026 after a suspected drone vanished from radar. The National Crisis Management Centre and the military were still trying to establish whether the object had crossed deeper into Lithuanian airspace or turned back. With the alert cancelled, the immediate airspace restrictions were removed, while search and verification work continued in border and eastern districts.

Why it matters

For residents in eastern Lithuania, it means air-raid sirens and mobile alerts can be triggered within minutes even before the object is identified. For airports and airspace managers, these episodes can mean immediate flight restrictions and extra security checks.

sources:15min.lt

Sports

Lituanica Kaunas triumphantly finished the European Baseball Federation Cup

Kaunas' Lituanica wrapped up the 2026 European Baseball Federations Cup in Kaunas with a win over Zurich Barracudas. The event ran from June 10 to June 13 at the VDU Valdas Adamkus Sports Centre, with Lituanica also facing clubs from Bratislava and Rybnik. The club had already earned a place in the main event after reaching last year's qualifying final in Norway. A tournament win would have opened the door to the European Baseball Cup.

Why it matters

The result shapes whether Kaunas' club moves one step higher in European club baseball next season. Hosting the tournament in Kaunas also gave Lithuanian fans a rare chance to see top sides from Ireland, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland on home soil.

sources:tv3.lt

Economy

Greta Ranonytė. In Lithuania – three of ten most valuable European fintech companies: what does it signal?

Lithuania’s fintech sector paid 310 million euros in taxes this spring and keeps drawing large international names, with Checkout.com opening a technology hub in the country, Greta Ranonytė said. Bank of Lithuania data show four investment-firm licences are now active for businesses serving clients across the EU, and Robinhood Europe was publicly invited to expand in Lithuania just days ago. The signal is clear: Vilnius is becoming a base not just for licences, but for regional financial operations and more mature, better-capitalised firms.

Why it matters

For bank customers and merchants, a larger fintech base usually means more local payment, brokerage and back-office services. A move toward bigger, more mature firms also lowers the risk that growth depends only on fast licence-granting and not on lasting operating capacity.

sources:delfi.lt

Politics

Elta Camp: new Innovation Agency head says defense as a phenomenon is undergoing transformation

Patricija Reut, who took over the Innovation Agency on June 12, said defence is moving from isolated technologies to a broader system linking start-ups, industry and state procurement. Her remarks came as Lithuania and Ukraine began shaping the 'Brave Lithuania' programme for defence-tech start-ups, researchers and companies. The agency has already been pulled deeper into the defence innovation pipeline, with a mandate to help scale firms and connect them to European funding.

Why it matters

For defence-tech start-ups and manufacturers, the shift could open more access to public contracts and cross-border programmes. It also helps turn lab-built systems into equipment that can actually reach the armed forces.

sources:delfi.lt

Politics

Dovilė Juodkaitė elected to UN Committee on Persons with Disabilities

Lithuania’s Dovilė Juodkaitė was elected on June 12 to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, according to UN election records. The committee oversees how states implement the 2006 disability rights convention, including access, independent living and non-discrimination. Juodkaitė had been nominated by Lithuania in 2024 and has long led the country’s disability NGO forum.

Why it matters

People with disabilities gain a Lithuanian voice in a UN body that reviews state reports and shapes recommendations on access, social care and legal safeguards. That gives Lithuanian NGOs a stronger channel to push issues like education, jobs and deinstitutionalisation at the top UN level.

sources:15min.lt

Europe

Summary

The UN human rights mission in Ukraine said May brought 1,575 civilian casualties, including 232 killed and 1,343 injured. That was the highest monthly civilian toll since April 2022, with missiles and drones hitting 18 regions and Kyiv.

EU officials in the past day confirmed a Reuters report that about 200 Russian troops were secretly trained in China late last year, with some later sent back to fight in Ukraine. Intelligence material and a bilateral agreement tied the training at bases in Beijing and Nanjing to drone operations. Bloomberg reported yesterday that Britain, France and Germany want to help launch Russia-Ukraine talks next month. Former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Vladimir Putin has no interest in talking to Europe because he doubts its unity.

Ukrainian officials also say Russia’s last ground supply route to Crimea has become a repeatedly targeted corridor, directly affecting military logistics in the south. In Russia’s Krasnodar region, drones struck a seaport over the past day, pushing the war again onto critical Black Sea infrastructure. Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said yesterday that they hit a Russian troops’ training ground in occupied Zaporizhzhia and released night-attack footage.

Elsewhere in Europe, the EU is keeping its enlargement agenda moving and has agreed to begin accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova. In Estonia, buyers from five countries, including Lithuania, are circling the country’s largest cheese producers’ factories.

A Ukrainian colonel said Russia has started using missiles that are harder to detect and can strike at longer range. At the same time, Ukrainian drones hit a titanium dioxide plant in Crimea, triggering a fire and forcing workers to evacuate.

sources: delfi.lt, lrt.lt, 15min.lt, lrytas.lt, vz.lt, tv3.lt

UN: May saw the highest number of civilian casualties in Ukraine since April 2022

The UN human rights mission in Ukraine said May brought 1,575 civilian casualties, including 232 killed and 1,343 injured. Long-range missiles and drones drove much of the toll, with casualties recorded across 18 regions and Kyiv. The scale points to heavier pressure on air defences and to more civilian risk far from the front line in June.

Why it matters

For civilians in Ukrainian cities, it means more strikes on homes, hospitals and public services. The rising toll also raises pressure on Kyiv to secure more air-defence systems and interceptor missiles from allies.

sources:delfi.lt

Politics

War in Ukraine. EU confirms reports that China funded Russian troops fighting in Ukraine

EU officials on May 19 confirmed a Reuters report that Chinese forces secretly trained about 200 Russian troops in China late last year, with some later sent back to fight in Ukraine. Intelligence material seen by Reuters and a bilateral agreement point to drone-focused instruction at bases in Beijing and Nanjing. The finding sharpens scrutiny of Beijing’s claim of neutrality and adds to questions over how Moscow is sustaining its war effort.

Why it matters

Ukrainian forces are facing Russian units that have picked up fresh training, especially in drones, one of the war’s most important tactical tools. For EU capitals, the report raises the stakes for sanctions design and for judging whether China is helping Moscow blunt Western pressure.

sources:lrt.lt

Politics

Putin belittles Europe and does not want talks with it: Kuleba reveals the reason

On June 11, Bloomberg said Britain, France and Germany want to help launch Russia-Ukraine talks next month, but former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Putin has no interest in talking to Europe because he doubts its unity. The three powers discussed the outline with Volodymyr Zelenskiy in London on June 7, including an immediate ceasefire, a halt along the front line and security guarantees for Ukraine. They are also preparing a new sanctions package and will use next week’s G7 summit in France to push Donald Trump to back the effort.

Why it matters

Ukraine’s next negotiating window depends on whether Europe stays united and whether Washington joins the pressure campaign on Moscow. A new sanctions package could hit Russia’s war budget directly and shape the pace of any talks.

sources:tv3.lt

Politics

Madiaro drones devastate Russian troops' base in occupied Zaporizhzhia

On June 12, 2026, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said it hit a Russian troops' training ground in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia and released night-attack footage. The unit led by Kyrylo Budanov, known by the call sign Madiar, has been publicly showcasing strikes on Russian military targets in occupied Crimea and other seized areas in recent weeks. The attack was described as part of Ukraine's wider effort to disrupt Russian logistics and manpower along the southern front.

Why it matters

For Russian units in occupied Zaporizhzhia, it means fewer safe places to train and stage troops close to the front. For Kyiv, strikes like this force Russia to spread air defences and hardware across the rear, Crimea and the battlefield.

sources:delfi.lt

World

Summary

A three-year-old girl died in Burlington, Ontario, after a sudden gust of wind hit an amusement park and damaged a trampoline area. Emergency crews took her to hospital in critical condition, and the park shut the site pending a safety review.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said today that Israel was trying to torpedo a possible U.S.-Iran deal as Washington and Tehran moved closer to a final text to end the war. Pakistan’s prime minister said the wording had already been agreed, but Tehran said no signing was planned for tomorrow. The main unresolved issues are limits on Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes in exchange for an end to the fighting and the release of frozen funds.

U.S. Central Command said today it shot down two Iranian combat drones in the Strait of Hormuz after they approached American vessels. The encounter came on one of the world’s most important oil and gas routes after weeks of sharper Iranian warnings to foreign forces. Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Corps says traffic on Russia’s Novorosiya highway into Crimea has fallen by more than two-thirds over the past month. Commander Andriy Biletsky told LRT Russian forces on that route are losing an average of 337 troops a day, while Ukrainian units are hitting 1,169 enemy targets daily.

Donald Trump said a US-Iran agreement could be signed on Sunday, but Tehran soon said it would not sign that day. The White House also confirmed Trump will attend a G7 working meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

sources: lrytas.lt, lrt.lt, tv3.lt, delfi.lt, 15min.lt

Tragic incident in Canada: storm at amusement park claims a three-year-old girl’s life

A three-year-old girl died in Burlington, Ontario, after a storm hit an amusement park and damaged a trampoline area. Local officials said emergency crews were called after a sudden gust of wind and the child was taken to hospital in critical condition. The park has shut the site pending a safety review and any decision on reopening.

Why it matters

Families taking small children to amusement parks will look closely at how temporary structures are secured and how quickly operators shut down in fast-moving storms. Canadian safety inspectors may now face pressure to review whether parks move fast enough when severe wind hits.

sources:lrytas.lt

Politics

War in Ukraine. The Telegraph: Russia's last path to Crimea becomes a 'death road'

Ukrainian forces have cut traffic on Russia’s Novorosiya highway to Crimea by more than two-thirds over the past month, the commander of the 3rd Assault Corps, Andriy Biletsky, told LRT. He said Russian troops on that route are now taking heavy losses, with an average of 337 killed a day and 1,169 enemy targets hit daily. The road is Moscow’s last land supply artery into the peninsula, making it a critical choke point for Russian logistics in southern Ukraine.

Why it matters

Russian units in Crimea and southern Ukraine now face a slower, costlier supply line as the main land route to the peninsula comes under sustained attack. That makes it harder to move armour, ammunition and troops to the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia fronts.

sources:lrt.lt

Politics

Iranian foreign minister: Israel seeking to derail possible deal with the US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on June 13 that Israel was trying to torpedo a possible U.S.-Iran deal as Washington and Tehran moved closer to a final text on ending the war. Pakistan's prime minister said the wording had already been agreed, while Iran said no signing was planned for June 15. The sticking points remain Iran's nuclear and missile limits in return for an end to the fighting and the release of frozen funds.

Why it matters

If talks fail, regional shipping, air links and energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz stay exposed to renewed strikes. European and Middle Eastern governments would remain on alert for another round of attacks and retaliation.

sources:lrt.lt

Politics

U.S. forces say they shot down several Iranian drones in the Hormuz Strait

U.S. Central Command said on June 13, 2026, that American forces shot down two Iranian combat drones in the Strait of Hormuz after they approached U.S. vessels. The encounter comes after weeks of sharper Iranian warnings to foreign forces around the waterway, a route that carries a huge share of global oil and gas shipments. Washington and Tehran have already traded strikes and threats over sea traffic, making the channel a live flashpoint again.

Why it matters

The Strait of Hormuz is a choke point for oil and gas, so any military exchange there can quickly hit shipping insurance and energy prices. Higher transport costs in the Gulf feed through to European fuel markets and raise pressure on importers.

sources:delfi.lt tv3.lt lrt.lt 15min.lt

Sports

Canadian C. Larinas helps national team avoid seventh straight loss

Canada played a World Cup Group B match on June 13, 2026, and substitute C. Larin levelled the game when the team was close to a seventh straight defeat at major tournaments. Canada arrived with one of the strongest squads in its history, and Larin remains one of its most prolific scorers and a key penalty-box threat. The result keeps Canada alive in the fight to reach the knockout stage for the first time, but it now needs points in its remaining Group B games.

Why it matters

Canada’s World Cup campaign avoided sliding into another early failure. Any points from the remaining group matches could still keep alive a first-ever run into the knockout rounds.

sources:lrytas.lt

Sports

USA vs. Paraguay at the World Cup

The United States and Paraguay are in Group D at the 2026 World Cup, which opened on June 11 in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Paraguay booked its place with a 0-0 draw against Ecuador in South American qualifying, finishing sixth and taking one of the region's six direct spots. The group also includes Australia and Turkey, and every match now carries direct weight in the race to the knockout stage.

Why it matters

For Paraguay, the tournament is a chance to prove the qualifying run was no fluke. For the U.S., the group stage matters not just for progression but for home support and the wider tone of the tournament.

sources:lrt.lt tv3.lt