The Baltic nations initially aimed to join the European system by the end of 2025. However, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they advanced the timeline by nearly a year.
The measure is reportedly largely directed toward Russian and Belarusian citizens.
Lithuania's incumbent President Gitanas Nauseda on May 26 declared a landslide victory in the presidential runoff vote, securing his second term in office.
"This is a completely new thing —a drone border from Norway to Poland, the purpose of which would be to protect our border with the help of drones and other technologies," said Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite.
Eerik Purgel, head of the PPA's Eastern Prefecture, said that Estonian and Russian authorities install the buoys that separate the territories on a yearly basis in order to ease navigation on the river and prevent fishermen and others from accidentally straying across the border.
The defense ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia met in the Lithuanian town of Palanga on May 22 and agreed on their key goals ahead of the upcoming NATO summit, including an allied commitment to invest at least 2.5% of GDP in defense.
A draft decree suggesting changing Russia's border in the Baltic Sea was deleted from the Russian government website on May 22 after swift condemnation from some NATO members.
Lithuania and Finland have not yet reacted to Russia's decision toward the maritime border, nor has Russia's unilateral decision been recognized internationally.
President Volodymyr Zelensky was also added to the list earlier in May, but the entry was subsequently taken down.
The American military battalion stationed in Lithuania will remain in the country indefinitely, not just until 2025 as previously planned, Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas said on May 2.
Estonia started to regularly close the Narva-1 border crossing with Russia between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. local time, the Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported on May 1.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte supported the idea that Vilnius should help Ukraine bring back its military-aged men living abroad, but after consultations with the EU and Kyiv, LRT reported on April 29.
Baltic foreign ministers have warned that the suspected Russian jamming of GPS systems aboard commercial flights is "too dangerous to ignore." This comes after it was revealed that two Finnish aircraft were forced to turn around mid-journey in recent days.
Major Gintautas Ciunis, a representative of the Strategic Communications Department of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, promptly denied the unsupported allegations soon after.
Children in Latvia will no longer learn Russian as a foreign language in schools from 2026, but instead will be required to learn a language of the European Union or the European Economic Area, Latvia's Education Ministry announced on April 23.
English serves as the first foreign language Latvian schoolchildren learn, and in theory, a number of other languages are offered as the second. In reality, Russian continues to be taught as the second foreign language in more than half of Latvian schools.
The Lithuanian government will allocate 400,000 euros ($425,900) for the provision of metal detectors in Ukrainian schools and the rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers, Ukraine's Interior Ministry announced on April 14.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Latvian counterpart, Edgars Rinkevics, signed a long-term bilateral security agreement, Zelensky announced on April 11 while visiting Lithuania for an international summit.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 11 arrived in Lithuania to take part in the Three Seas Summit and hold talks with the leaders of the partner countries.
The Nordic and Baltic countries support an increased role for NATO in aiding Ukraine’s fight against Russia, as well as Kyiv’s bid to join the European Union, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told reporters on April 10, according to Reuters.
President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with recently-appointed Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas in Kyiv, the Presidential Office said on April 10.
A spokesperson for the Lithuanian police said that two separate attacks had occurred, first on April 7 and then again on April 8. Both reportedly happened in the early morning.
Lithuania will purchase 3,000 Lithuanian drones for Kyiv and allocate 15 million euros (around $16 million) to rehabilitation programs for wounded Ukrainian soldiers, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on April 5 during his visit to Vilnius.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal arrived in Lithuania and met his Lithuanian counterpart, Ingrida Simonyte, Shmyhal said on April 5.
Ukrainian and Lithuanian officials held a meeting on April 4, during which they decided on the key points and a schedule for the preparation of a bilateral security agreement, Ukraine's Presidential Office said.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal held a meeting with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics during the former's visit to Riga on April 4.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal arrived in Latvia and met with his Latvian counterpart, Evika Silina, Shmyhal said on his Telegram channel on April 4.
According to the poll, only 15% of respondents were in favor of sending troops to Ukraine, but on the condition that other Western allies do so as well.
The exercises, which the defense ministry said were intended to simulate defense scenarios in the case of martial law being implemented, will be held in the western Hrodno Oblast and the southern Homel Oblast, north of the Ukrainian border.
The proposal would only impact local elections.
"We discussed further assistance for Ukraine from Estonia and other partners and the progress in the preparation of a bilateral security agreement," President Volodymyr Zelensky said, according to his Telegram channel.
"Support from the U.S. has significantly helped Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania fast-track several military infrastructure and capability development projects," Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said in a statement.
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