LRT English Newsletter – Feburary 6, 2026.
Jeffrey Epstein also left a trail through Lithuania. Following the release of thousands of redacted documents by the US Department of Justice, our colleagues at LRT.lt dug in.
They found several musicians being friendly with the convicted sex offender, as well as numerous interactions – and money transfers – to Lithuanian citizens. One of them is a well-known events organiser, whose company was behind the popular Midsummer Vilnius festival. In his will, Epstein also left 3 million US dollars to the events organiser’s wife, prompting further questions.
Meanwhile, the revelation of names in the Lithuanian media also sparked discussions on journalistic ethics and whether people whose wrongdoing had not been proven – or even alleged – should have been named publicly.
DEFENCE UPDATES
Lithuania will have a record defence budget this year, with the military planning to acquire some of the most expensive – and lethal – tech, like the HIMARS systems. Here’s more on what the army is getting and when. Meanwhile, the US approved over 200 million US dollars in defence assistance to the Baltic states.
Speaking of defence, the massive social media storm over the new military training area sparked another wave of bots. Much of the conflict with the locals, officials also admit, was the result of catastrophic communication shortcomings – the locals learned there would be a military training area, basically, from the media.
TESTING WATERS?
There’s been some signalling from Lithuanian politicians on re-engaging with the Minsk regime in one form or another. Many of the statements were then walked back, with officials publicly saying they backed increasing sanctions against Belarus.
This reflects discussions in Lithuania and among the Belarusian opposition on what to do with the regime of Alexander Lukashenko – re-engage, keep a hard-line, trade political prisoners for sanction-relief, or something else? Depressingly, this follows a pattern seen in Europe in the past – a cynical game of trade-offs with the regime following a cycle of post-election repressions.
This week, Maria Kolesnikava, one of the opposition leaders freed last year amid US mediation efforts, also met with Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė and the leader of the social democrats, Mindaugas Sinkevičius. Following the visit, Sinkevičius said that “Lithuania’s policy toward Belarus must be based on clear goals and tangible results” and that “sanctions are not a goal in and of themselves”.
TAIWAN TRAIN
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said Lithuania had “jumped in front of a train”, meaning it acted too fast and alone, with its decisions on opening a Taiwan representative office back in 2021. Similar to the discussions surrounding Belarus, this marks a change of approach in Vilnius, with the leading social democrats discussing whether and how to move away from the so-called values-based foreign policy of the former government.
GOOD YEAR, APPARENTLY
Despite the political calamities, 2025 was an exceptionally good year for the Lithuanian economy, which grew 2.7 percent.
In other economy updates:
– Foreign tourism rose 4.4 percent.
– GenZ employees tend to display different workplace habits.
– Latvia’s airBaltic seeks expansion in Lithuania.
CRIME NEWS
We had a spate of crime-related news over the past weeks, including an odd one – a man shot projectiles from a gas-powered pistol at two trolleybuses; no injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, the police detained several dozen people in a wide sweep against the criminal smuggling networks – the same ones that used balloons to carry illicit tobacco that kept bringing the work at Vilnius Airport to a halt. There were also arrests as part of an international human and drug trafficking bust.
EDITOR’S PICKS:
– Why are you so happy?
– It’s still cold.
– “Patriotic unison” is driving the country crazy, argues Valdemaras Klumbys.
– Foreign nationals are struggling to rent apartments.
– And here’s how you can rent your own car to your own party and get away with it.
Written by Benas Gerdžiūnas
Edited by Justinas Šuliokas
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