27 August 2026

Lithuanian police warned today about a scam in which victims are pressured into urgently selling property and then lose the proceeds. Since the start of 2025, investigators have opened 17 large-scale fraud cases linked to property sales, including 10 in the Kaunas region, six in Vilnius and one in Panevėžys. Police stressed that no state institution will ever demand by phone that someone sell property or hand over cash, gold or other valuables, and urged families to warn older relatives.

In Jonava, Lithuania Defense Services began shipping repaired Leopard 2 tanks back to Ukraine today after restoring battle-damaged vehicles in its workshops. The company has been repairing the tanks since October 2023 and has already started building a new assembly plant and armoured-vehicle service centre in the Kaunas free economic zone. It plans to invest about 50 million euros by early 2028 and create roughly 100 jobs.

In Vilnius, Laurynas Kasčiūnas wants a meeting of the Seimas National Security and Defence Committee after more details emerged about CIA director John Ratcliffe's secret trip to Moscow. US and British media said the purpose of the visit was to warn the Kremlin not to attack NATO members after US intelligence saw signs Russia could test the alliance. Regitra said yesterday that vanity licence plates cost 2,500 euros, with home delivery priced at 6.99 euros, and that self-service ordering may still face disruption after maintenance that began on August 24. Seimas speaker Juozas Olekas is in Reykjavik today for the annual meeting of Nordic and Baltic parliamentary leaders, where support for Ukraine is the main item and Ukrainian speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk is also taking part.

In Kalvarija, police were called twice to the same street on the same day after two dead men were found about three hours apart. Officers are checking whether the deaths are linked, and authorities have not disclosed the identities of the men or the cause of death.

Deputy Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said most of the new US troop capabilities earmarked for Lithuania should arrive this year. That would accelerate the deployment timetable for the previously announced US reinforcement.

Kyiv was hit by blasts overnight after Ukraine's air force warned of incoming ballistic missiles and drones aimed at the capital. Over the past day, falling debris damaged two schools in the Podilskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts, and four districts of the city were affected. Ukraine's air force said it had shot down seven Iskander-M or North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles. Recent Russian strikes on Kyiv have already damaged apartment blocks, a children's hospital, warehouses and other civilian sites.

In Kherson, Russian forces struck the Naftogaz-run combined heat and power plant overnight with four guided bombs, hitting it for the second time in 24 hours. Naftogaz said the plant's remaining heat and power equipment had been destroyed, at a civilian facility that supplies heat to residents ahead of winter. CIA director John Ratcliffe travelled to Moscow this week and met Russian intelligence officials. Analyst Tomas Janeliūnas said the trip may have been a warning to Moscow over possible moves against NATO's eastern flank and critical infrastructure.

Frankfurt Airport has confirmed that two workers died from malaria and four others are being treated after workplace-linked infections. The Robert Koch Institute said the cases were probably caused by a mosquito brought in on a flight from an endemic region, likely in a cargo hold. In Germany, the Rhine near Duisburg has fallen so low that some stretches are becoming difficult to navigate. Thyssenkrupp is cutting inventory buffers, some cargo is shifting to trucks, and the chemical industry warns that prolonged low water could disrupt logistics and manufacturing.

Patriot missile stockpiles in Europe have dropped to a critical level. Ukrainian intelligence said Russia is planning to mobilize another 600,000 people.

Nepal’s disaster toll worsened over the past day, with police now reporting 270 dead and more than 1,300 missing after floods and landslides near the Tibet border. The surge devastated Rasuwa district, ripped through the Bhote Kosi and Trishuli river corridor, and destroyed roads and bridges, while dozens of soldiers and police are among the missing. On the Chinese side, rescuers are still searching for 558 people missing after mudslides linked to the same glacial collapse.

Tensions rose again in the Strait of Hormuz after an unidentified projectile hit a tanker and started a fire onboard. Oil traders remain relatively calm even after Brent traded above $90 this month, because the market still expects shipping through Hormuz to recover quickly. Only a handful of vessels are now transiting the strait each day, down from about 130 before the conflict, but escorted night sailings are still keeping some cargo moving. Markets are also watching Iran-Oman talks on reopening the waterway and a smaller-than-expected rise in U.S. crude inventories.

North Korea said on August 27 it would respond strongly and immediately to a U.S. decision to approve the sale of missiles and related equipment to South Korea. The foreign ministry did not spell out any countermeasures, and the statement came after Donald Trump revived talk of another meeting with Kim Jong Un and said he had heard back from the North Korean leader this month.

The U.S. FDA approved Rasonque, or daraxonrasib, yesterday for adults with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma who have already had at least one systemic treatment. It is the first broad RAS-targeted drug for this disease, and a 500-patient trial showed longer survival and fewer serious side effects than standard chemotherapy. In Washington, Senator Richard Blumenthal urged U.S. companies in Ukraine to press Donald Trump and Congress for tougher action against Moscow, saying Russian attacks on American businesses appeared deliberate. A U.S. military judge also set June 5, 2028, as the start date for the Guantanamo trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three co-defendants over the September 11 attacks.

The New York Times said the CIA director delivered Russia a grim assessment of the war in Ukraine. Israel struck South Lebanon.