3 November 2026

Deividas Matulionis said on Monday that accelerating universal male conscription would cut into funding for equipping Lithuania’s armed forces already in service. After the State Defence Council’s decision, the presidency is sticking to a 2032 start date and says annual call-ups would rise from just over 5,000 to about 7,500.

Lithuania’s Special Investigation Service on Monday issued suspicion notices to 15 current and former politicians from six municipalities in the expanding “receipts” case. Former Lazdijai mayor Arturas Margelis is accused of causing 1,332 euros in damage, while the biggest alleged loss identified so far is nearly 15,500 euros in Jonava district. Prosecutors say the case centres on allegedly false fuel expense claims and includes suspected asset misappropriation, abuse of office and document forgery.

Vilnius is marking former president Valdas Adamkus’s 100th birthday today. President Gitanas Nauseda said Adamkus’s leadership helped anchor the restored state in the Western community. At about 2 p.m., two Belgian F-16 Fighting Falcons flew over central Vilnius after arriving for NATO air policing duty. The Lithuanian military said the flight tested communications and whether the jets could land safely at any Lithuanian airport if needed.

In Lithuania’s information space, a false social media post today put words in Nauseda’s mouth to claim war is moving closer to the country, even though his actual remarks were about regional spillover and the risks from airspace violations. In the regional aviation security backdrop for Lithuania, bomb threats against two flights bound for Warsaw ended with both aircraft landing safely and no explosives found, while one LOT flight was diverted to Modlin. In Ignalina, a fire on Tuesday killed one person and sent another to hospital, and investigators are examining the cause and whether smoke alarms were working. In Vilnius housing, top-end flats in the Old Town, Uzupis and Paupys are reaching 10,000 euros per square metre, with brokers Rasa Pavariene and Monika Bliujute saying location and scarcity drive purchases as much as price.

Komyshuvakha in southeastern Ukraine was hit by a Russian strike that killed 33 people, with more than 50 others feared trapped under the rubble. Zelensky said in Berlin that the blast struck a former school used to distribute aid, and rescuers were still digging today when security conditions allowed.

In southern Ukraine, the death toll from yesterday's Russian missile and drone strike on an aid centre and shelter rose to 31, with about 20 people still missing. After a six-day ceasefire expired, Russia resumed attacks across Ukraine today: strikes on energy sites killed at least 29 people and left 48 missing, while a separate attack near Dnipro killed one person and wounded 17. In Yasnohirka near Kramatorsk, four FAB-250 glide bombs killed a 48-year-old woman at 11:33, wounded five others and damaged at least 16 houses. In Kharkiv, an overnight missile and drone strike hit the passage between buildings at a medical facility in the Nemyshlianskyi district, pushing the number of wounded to 73 and forcing the evacuation of more than 220 patients.

Russia's attacks also cut power again in several Ukrainian districts today, while Kyiv says it is short of air-defence missiles. In Berlin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Zelensky tied the latest strikes to Moscow's stance before US-brokered talks due in Abu Dhabi next week.

In Latvia, the military issued an airspace threat warning at 00:34 for Balvi and Ludza after an unidentified object fell in the Balvi area, prompting a NATO fighter response. In Poland, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 flying from London to Warsaw with 181 passengers was diverted to Modlin airport after a bomb report, but specialists found nothing suspicious.

The United States is voting today in midterm elections that will decide control of Congress for the final two years of Donald Trump’s term. The ballot also includes dozens of governor races and thousands of state and local offices, with cost-of-living pressures, tariffs, the war with Iran, immigration and AI regulation dominating the campaign. AdImpact estimates political advertising spending at $11.6 billion, which would break the 2022 midterm record. A Chicago Council poll found most Americans think Trump’s foreign policy weakened U.S. standing and raised household costs, but voters remain focused mainly on inflation and everyday prices.

In Wichita, Kansas, a federal grand jury today indicted a postal worker accused of stealing thousands of mail pieces, including hundreds of Republican campaign mailers meant for voters on his route. The Justice Department said the case could have disrupted political mail on election day, when delivery remains critical in several states. The U.S. Supreme Court also rejected the Trump administration’s request over California ballots, leaving a lower-court ruling in place as voting continued.

Iranian state media said today that five rapid explosions hit Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. A U.S. official said yesterday’s strike targeted surface-to-air missiles used against U.S. assets, and The Wall Street Journal linked it to a series of limited covert U.S. strikes inside Iran in recent weeks. The White House said on Monday that back-channel talks with Tehran through Qatar and Pakistan were making progress, but oil still rose by more than $1 after the Qeshm reports. In Israel, opposition blocs in Herzliya agreed to back former army chief Gadi Eisenkot for prime minister, and President Isaac Herzog will begin consultations on Wednesday.

Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that Ukraine had resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries after Moscow acknowledged attacks on three refineries and one gas-processing complex. In sport, a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling opened the door for Russia to return to the 2027 men’s world ice hockey championship in Germany, prompting boycott threats from five national federations and some sponsors.