LRT English Newsletter – September 19, 2025.
Ever thought of spicing up your relationship with explosive sex toys? Russia has. Prosecutors say operatives recruited by Moscow turned massage cushions and cosmetic tubes into incendiary devices – three of which blew up last year in DPD trucks and DHL warehouses in Germany, Poland and the UK.
On Wednesday, prosecutors announced having uncovered a network of suspects who allegedly helped pull off the scheme. The suspects – a mix of Russian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and Ukrainian nationals – were allegedly recruited over Telegram, promised crypto payments, and kept in the dark about the bigger picture to maintain secrecy. Investigators say the plot was coordinated by Russian nationals tied to Russian military intelligence.
Details about the plot have emerged from a months-long cross-border investigation, including reporting from LRT’s Investigation Team. Worth a read if you’re curious how a freshly built Vilnius apartment complex managed to trip up the masterplan.
STILL NO GOVERNMENT
As the deadline approaches for PM-designate Inga Ruginienė to complete filling her cabinet, a stand-off between the president and one of the coalition parties, Nemunas Dawn, risks derailing the government even before it is confirmed.
Under the agreement with the Social Democrats and one more party, Nemunas Dawn gets to nominate three ministers – but President Gitanas Nausėda on Monday rejected two of the candidates: Mindaugas Jablonskis for energy and Povilas Poderskis for environment. The president said he was not convinced they would put public interest first (Poderskis has come under scrutiny for his links with the wind energy lobby). Additionally, Nausėda had previously said he would not have any ministers who are Nemunas Dawn party members – because its leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis has pending legal issues.
There followed a week of verbal tantrums from all sides. Žemaitaitis first said this voided the coalition agreement (he did not act like it, though), threatened to re-submit the same candidates or pick someone from the party ranks. The president’s office called Žemaitaitis a terrorist with whom they would not negotiate. PM-designate Ruginienė said her patience was running out and even met an opposition party group, sparking speculations that the Social Democrats might be trying to forge a new majority.
On Thursday afternoon, the three coalition parties came to the Presidential Palace to try to make up and work things out – but not quite in time for the planned government confirmation vote next Tuesday. After the meeting, Žemaitaitis said the conversation was “good and constructive” – and that he proposed new candidates for the two ministries. He wouldn’t say who they were, only that we might need to wait for the new government to be sworn in until October.
ZAPAD
As Russia and Belarus wrapped up the active phase of their joint Zapad 2025 exercises, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said Tuesday the drills proceeded as announced and posed no direct threat to Lithuania.
He noted that calm along the border was due in part to deliberate preparation by Lithuanian and Polish authorities. While the exercises stirred unease among nearly half of Lithuania’s population, Vilnius – in contrast with Poland – opted to keep borders open, though the State Border Guard chief had authority to close them immediately, if provoked. Lithuania also slapped a 7–8 km no-fly zone along Belarus, beefed up patrols and border checks, and kicked off its own Thunder Strike 2025 exercise with 17,000 troops. In all, 40,000 NATO forces drilled across the Baltics and Poland during the active Zapad phase.
Nausėda also saw a silver lining: Zapad drew NATO’s gaze squarely onto the region. Though US officers showing up to watch Russian-Belarusian war games is a move some read as a hint of thaw between Minsk and Washington, NATO also launched a new Eastern Sentry mission in response to Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace – an important deterrence measure, according to our president.
At home, following drone breaches on its own border, Lithuania is moving to give its military faster authority to neutralise drones – and some politicians are already floating the idea of a possible bilateral defence pact with Poland and Germany.
BELARUS
Those eyeing a thaw between Minsk and the West will be quick to note: after Belarus freed 52 political prisoners, Washington lifted sanctions on the state airline Belavia. Though Lithuania will continue opposing any sanctions relief, Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys noted that the move will test the EU’s backbone.
Not all of the prisoners freed under the US-brokered deal made it across the border into Lithuania. Veteran opposition leader Mikola Statkevich, who refused to leave Belarus, has been returned to custody, according to independent outlet Nasha Niva.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya offered a take on why Statkevich stayed behind. She noted that the prisoner release isn’t real freedom – it’s also forced deportation. Tsikhanouskaya knows the drill herself, having spent years in exile in Vilnius.
UN REPORTS ISRAEL IS COMMITTING GENOCIDE IN GAZA
Hours after Israel launched a ground offensive in Gaza City, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said that Europe may need to reassess its relationship with Israel. He has taken pains to not go too far, however, saying any EU sanctions should aim to change conditions on the ground rather than punish Israel. He also expressed scepticism about the EU's moves to sanction the country, apparently upset about public pressure and what he called ‘cancel culture’ from the critics of Israel.
SOCIETY
Days after the first same-sex couple exchanged rings in Lithuania, the Justice Ministry asked courts to postpone the enforcement of rulings legalising civil partnerships for at least a year, citing the need for time to establish registration procedures.
Lithuania’s Constitutional Court also refused to review the absence of legal provisions allowing transgender people to change gender markers and personal identification codes in official documents, claiming the issue falls outside its jurisdiction and requires the parliament to pass legislation.
Some streets in Vilnius District still bear the name of Cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz, a disgraced clergyman, sanctioned by the Vatican for sexually abusing minors and covering up clerical child abuse crimes.
ECONOMY
Lithuania’s economy is set for steady growth, though central bank officials warn reforms and global trade tensions could slow momentum. On Tuesday, the bank projected GDP growth of 2.7% this year – down from June’s forecast – followed by 3.2% in 2026 and 2.3% in 2027.
The IMF is a bit more optimistic, predicting 2.9% gross domestic product growth this year and 3.4% in 2026. Both authorities expect a spending spree next year once Lithuanians are allowed to withdraw their savings from private pension funds.
Meanwhile, the Baltic states are investing in infrastructure: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia signed a €1.77 billion deal to electrify the planned Rail Baltica railway, the region’s largest rail electrification project to date.
And on Thursday, Lithuania’s behemoth electronics manufacturer Teltonika inaugurated four new production plants, the first building blocks of its ambitious high-tech park in Vilnius. The company’s CEO did not hold back – once all the planned investment is made, he said, Teltonika will be making up to 5% of the country’s GDP.
EDITOR’S PICKS
– Guess Lithuania’s Oscar nomination contender (it won’t surprise you, if you know a thing or two about our cinema).
– NATO cuts: appeasing ‘Daddy Trump’ or a necessary step towards efficiency?
– Bad at mushroom-picking? Take tips from this year’s mushroom-picking champions who hauled over 250 kg of fungi.
– London’s Underground is alive with the sound of kanklės thanks to this Lithuanian musician.
– No plans for the weekend? Check out these unusual museums!
– Meet the genealogist who helps Americans discover their Lithuanian roots.
– Find out what it takes to become a master hairdresser.
Written by Austė Sargytė and Justinas Šuliokas
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