18 August 2026

The Presidency warned on Tuesday that a border incident could happen again and said Lithuania needs stronger air defence and a reliable public warning system. Gitanas Nausėda said in July that the risk of military drones crossing into Lithuania was rising, and the Presidency linked border security to coordination with Latvia and other allies.

Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovičius has proposed dismissing Border Guard chief Rustamas Liubajevas on Wednesday. Liubajevas has led the State Border Guard Service since 2021 and was confirmed for a second term in 2024, while the cabinet still has to approve the move. Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė also called on Tuesday for Lithuania to create a public register of paedophiles and to name people convicted of such crimes. A public list would require a separate legal framework because Lithuania’s current registers are used for checks and criminal record certificates, not public disclosure.

Other developments included a Lithuanian entrepreneur being detained and jailed in Belarus. In business coverage, a comparison of two sisters’ investments drew attention after one reported a 24% return from picking individual stocks, highlighting the familiar trade-off between higher returns and higher risk for Lithuanian savers.

Health and digital government also moved higher on the agenda today. The biggest overhaul of Lithuania’s Electronic Government Gateway in 15 years is beginning, while Santaros Clinics say virus patients are arriving in large numbers and some cannot breathe or eat on their own.

Late in the evening, the most notable domestic developments were a report on higher heating costs for households and proposed road traffic rule changes that could allow a 140 km/h speed limit on some roads. A court case also opened for a Raseiniai municipal official over six car arsons and drunk driving, while he remains in his post.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 620 Ukrainian drones flew toward the capital region overnight, while AP put the total launched across Russia at nearly 800. Russian authorities reported at least six deaths on Russian territory, and Moscow's latest running tally says it has shot down 1,671 Ukrainian drones. Russia cast the latest wave as one of the biggest strikes on the capital area in two years, with fires reported across Moscow and the surrounding region and key facilities among the targets.

The barrage came after a similar assault and after a Russian missile strike in Ukraine's Kharkiv region killed at least 10 people. Tension near NATO's border remains high after the July 30 incident in which a Russian missile crossed into Poland and the alliance scrambled jets. In the past day, Russian drone strikes set fire to Kyiv's book market and damaged homes, while at least six people were killed in Russia's Belgorod region over the previous two days.

Russia's embassy in London warned yesterday that Britain would pay a higher price if it kept arming Ukraine, after UK-made drones were used for the first time in strikes on Russian territory. London replied that Moscow should not doubt Britain's resolve to keep backing Kyiv. In Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, a Russian strike hit a combine harvester during harvesting and killed one person.

Another pressure point is a Russian and North Korean missile unit in Russia's Voronezh region, which puts cities in Ukraine's Donetsk region within range. Kyiv says ballistic missiles are the hardest threat to stop because interception windows are measured in minutes or seconds, increasing pressure on allies to speed up Patriot deliveries.

A drone explosion near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant killed one person and injured 17, with Russia blaming Ukraine. In Latvia, a cyberattack exposed the personal data of 1.2 million people.

Israeli air strikes hit the Abu Duhur military airbase in Syria's Idlib province today, with Syrian state TV saying eight strikes hit the runway. No one was killed or wounded, but Damascus and Ankara condemned the attack as a violation of Syrian sovereignty.

In southern Lebanon, earlier Israeli strikes on two locations killed at least 11 people, including three children on the outskirts of Ansar, and wounded 17 in Deir al Zahrani. It was the deadliest attack since the June 20 truce between Israel and Hezbollah. At the same time, U.S. forces redirected more than 60 ships under a renewed blockade, with some turned back near the approaches to the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian ports, while loading at Kharg Island had nearly stopped.

Berkshire Hathaway said yesterday it raised its Alphabet stake in the second quarter to about 106 million shares worth $37.76 billion at the end of June. Warren Buffett's conglomerate also repurchased $4.5 billion of its own stock, its biggest quarterly buyback since 2021, while cash fell to $365.5 billion from nearly $400 billion at the end of March.

Sergei Lavrov said over the past day that Japan had crossed a line of decency after Tokyo protested Vladimir Putin's visit to the Russian-held Northern Territories. Russia's foreign ministry demanded an explanation from Japan's ambassador, and the Kuril Islands dispute still leaves the two countries without a peace treaty since World War Two. WHO said its latest monitoring found only 40% of the world's health care facilities meet hygiene standards, and half still lack basic water, soap or hand-rub supplies at points of care and in toilets.

The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of launching two ballistic missiles into its territory and warned residents of possible further rocket threats. The IAEA said several tons of nuclear material had been found in Syria.