6 July 2026

Ignalina nuclear power plant is preparing to start dismantling its reactor cores, the most delicate stage in shutting down the Chernobyl-type units. The company is also seeking a contractor for deep geological surveys for a future radioactive waste repository and has already removed more than 1,500 cubic metres of waste from the Maišiagala storage site. A separate study on demolishing the plant’s main buildings runs until July 2027, marking Lithuania’s shift from storage to final dismantling of its Soviet nuclear legacy.

President Gitanas Nausėda on Monday approved the full line-up of Lithuania’s new government. On State Day, he also awarded 45 people for merits to Lithuania, while the national anthem is due to be sung across the country in the evening.

In Vilnius, a 19-year-old driver has been formally suspected over a crash early on Saturday in which a BMW 530e hit a lighting pole on Žirmūnų Street and killed two passengers. A court imposed a pledge not to leave and seized her identity documents, while police suspect from city camera footage that the car may have been raced before impact; the driver had 0.56 per mille of alcohol in her system. Lithuanian security and crisis management officials also warned that Russian services are using social media and messaging apps to offer minors cash for reconnaissance, arson and other sabotage.

In Vilnius, animal welfare group Lesė said a tightly sealed bag had been left in the heat with a mother cat and five kittens inside. Two animals died, three kittens are being treated, and the group is preparing a police complaint over suspected animal cruelty. In Šilutė, a woman assaulted a minor within the past two days, and investigators are establishing the circumstances and the relationship between the two people. Health coverage over the past day also renewed warnings about tick-borne encephalitis, saying vaccination is the main protection and advising people to check their skin and clothes after time near forests, brush and tall grass.

Late attention focused on the Kriisa case, with reports alleging he extorted $2.2 million by posing as a woman and prosecutors citing lies about his mother's cancer as part of the scheme. In domestic politics, President Gitanas Nauseda was asked to veto Electoral Code amendments that would ban disinformation.