20 June 2026

Lithuania’s military warned on Saturday that NATO fighter jets were flying over the country’s north and west, and residents could hear sounds resembling explosions. At the same time, Germany’s 45th Armored Brigade “Lithuania” was conducting live-fire drills at the Pabrade training ground, with the next phase focused on command procedures and integration with Lithuanian troops.

The German brigade remains the core of Berlin’s long-term military build-up in Lithuania and a key element of NATO’s eastern flank. In domestic politics, Algirdas Butkevicius said appointing Inga Ruginiene as prime minister was an irresponsible decision. In technology, a new EU report showed AI use in Lithuanian business rose 143% over the past year.

In sport, Sarunas Jasikevicius was hailed as the best coach in Europe by Besiktas coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after Fenerbahce’s EuroLeague title run. The next question is whether Jasikevicius stays in Istanbul and what backing he gets for the new season. In health, a major study published on Saturday linked 99% of heart attacks and strokes to four risks: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar and smoking. For Lithuania, the findings add weight to routine screening and faster treatment in primary care.

Palanga mayor Sarunas Vaitkus said on Saturday that his family was grieving a loss. In public safety, a child drowned in the Sysa River in Silute over the past day, while scammers continued draining residents’ bank accounts.

A driver was killed in a head-on collision between two cars in the Trakai district, prompting a temporary road closure and a full emergency response. In the Širvintos district, two people were injured after an ultralight aircraft crashed.

Kharkiv was hit by a Russian strike today that killed one person and wounded nine in residential areas. Emergency crews were still assessing the damage and checking whether some of the injured needed hospital treatment.

In occupied Crimea, powerful explosions shook Sevastopol yesterday and a fire broke out in the Streletskaya Bay area near facilities linked to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Local monitoring channels also reported strikes near Kamyshovaya and Kazachya bays, with thick black smoke rising over parts of the city. By today, Russian officials had still not issued a detailed damage assessment.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy said today that equipment used in Russian attacks must be removed from Belarus, including relay stations Kyiv says are linked to drone strikes. Kyiv says Russia has also deployed other military hardware on Belarusian territory, turning parts of the country into a support base for nightly attacks on Ukrainian cities. Ben Hodges told LRT today that Ukraine can strike Moscow with precision weapons because Russia cannot fully shield the capital with air defences.

Gaza health officials said today that five people were killed in Israeli strikes. In football, Morocco beat Scotland 1-0 yesterday in Group C, with the winner becoming the fastest goal of the tournament so far. Morocco have already secured top spot in the group, while Scotland remain alive before their final match against Brazil. Eurojackpot published the results of its 920th draw today, and Kenoloto also released the winning numbers in draw 15014.

Russian forces shelled Zaporizhzhia late in the evening. Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had prepared a new massive strike on Ukraine.

Iran said today it was closing the Strait of Hormuz again after Israeli strikes in Lebanon widened the conflict. About a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade normally passes through the waterway, putting shipping and energy markets on alert. Tehran tied access to the strait to the course of the war in Lebanon and to limits on attacks against Hezbollah, while U.S.-Iran ceasefire contacts moved close to collapse.

In southern Lebanon, five people were killed in fresh Israeli strikes today. The Israeli military had issued a new evacuation warning for the border area near Tyre and Naqoura before the attacks, and hospitals were treating wounded civilians. The fragile Israel-Hezbollah truce is now being accompanied by renewed strikes and by public calls in Beirut defending Hezbollah’s right to keep fighting.

Emmanuel Macron said yesterday that Donald Trump would have handed Ukraine to Vladimir Putin. The French president tied that claim to pressure on Kyiv to accept territorial concessions and to Moscow’s push for talks without credible security guarantees.

At the World Cup, Morocco scored in the second minute in Boston yesterday and beat Scotland 1-0 in Group C. Australia drew with the United States today, keeping the Americans alive in the race for the round of 16. Brazil then beat Haiti convincingly to move top of Group C ahead of the final round of matches.

The FBI said it stopped a serious attack on the White House after one suspect’s mother helped identify the attackers. In Lebanon, the death toll from the Israel-Hezbollah war has exceeded 4,000.