18 July 2026

Palanga police handled several incidents overnight from Friday to Saturday, including a dispute over medicine and a report of a child sexual assault. Such a report would normally trigger a pre-trial investigation focused on the victim’s age, the circumstances and possible suspects.

In Vilnius, a teenager sexually assaulted a minor in the city centre over the past day. In Lithuania, offences of this kind are treated as very serious crimes, and any prosecution will hinge on evidence gathered in the pre-trial investigation and the victim’s testimony. Vilnius police are also still asking for help in the search for Almantė Belousovaitė, born in 2010, who left a care home and did not return. Officers said she is 163 cm tall, slim, with dark shoulder-length hair and a prominent mole above her lip.

Ignalina nuclear power plant says it still needs about 4.5 billion euros to complete decommissioning. The plant is preparing a tender worth nearly 500 million euros to dismantle reactor cores, and some infrastructure will need monitoring for 100 years after the repository closes. A 156 million euro repository for short-lived low and intermediate-level waste is already under construction at Ignalina, will take waste until 2038, and the European Union is covering about 86% of new-build costs.

Heating bills in Lithuania rose this year after VAT on district heating, hot water and firewood increased to 21% in January. The Lithuanian heat suppliers' association said the average bill in the 2025–2026 season was about 30% higher than a year earlier, while the average heat price reached 7.78 euro cents per kilowatt-hour. In Vilnius, households in old and poorly maintained apartment blocks paid at least 40% more than residents of renovated buildings. Forecasters said parts of Lithuania could see brief rain on Saturday, thunderstorms may return on Sunday, and a new cyclone will move closer early next week.

Late evening was led by a report on a new defence project in Lithuania that would be the first of its kind in the country. Storm damage also drew attention after an oak tree fell onto a house in the Varėna district, causing the roof to cave in.