LRT English Newsletter – May 29, 2026.
Goodbye to registry data of over 600,000 people.
The news first broke last Friday when the 15min news website and the General Prosecutor’s Office announced the leak. But the manner in which it came to light is worrying. According to a 15min reporter, Jūratė Damulytė, the prosecutors only informed the public after receiving questions from journalists.
Critics immediately piled the blame on our elected officials, even urging the prime minister to resign. The main issue, they said, was that the authorities kept silent for months.
So what’s next?
The president, prosecutors and political opposition are sounding alarm that “a hostile state” (ie Russia) could have been behind the incident, as the leaked information includes people’s addresses and personal ID numbers. This could then be used to cross-reference and identify military officers and other high-value targets.
(A telling detail is that a former Lithuanian politician sentenced for spying for Russia was tasked with collecting addresses of specific people.)
The rest of us, mere mortals, can check if our data was compromised by logging into the Centre of Registers. Meanwhile, you should refrain from talking to dubious people who might email or call you, even if they know more than enough details about you to avoid being scammed.
PATRIAS AND DRONES
Two big announcements came on the heels of one another – Lithuania was buying over 900 Finnish APCs, while also establishing a dedicated drone unit, ANBO, which will specialise in long-range strikes. My fellow history nerds should recognise the name – ANBO was the name of the Lithuanian interwar-era military planes.
In other defence news, Lithuania is moving toward a universal conscription model, while NATO will beef up Baltic defences with an additional German-Dutch military corps.
DRONE FALL OUT
The country is reeling from the cold shower last week when Vilnius and other regions got the air alert warning. There are plenty of identified lessons, compiled in a handy wrap by our colleague here.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was also in town to meet with Gitanas Nausėda and his Estonian and Latvian counterparts. After the meeting, Nausėda said the Baltic states expected EU action over the drone incursions, not mere words of solidarity.
Meanwhile, the president said Lithuania would shoot down drones even with expensive missiles. None of the six – or more – drones that entered Lithuanian airspace since July last year were shot down. Experts are not sure whether the failure had anything to do with the missile price tag, either. Namely – the authorities struggle to track the drones. And so, after a demonstration near Kaunas, officials announced that Lithuania might buy an Israeli drone detection system.
BELARUSKALI BACK ON TRACK?
Our partners at RFE/RL reported about a discussion paper sent by the Americans to Lithuania (and, weirdly, Ukraine, which is basically under attack from Belarus) to allow Belaruskali to resume fertiliser exports via the respective countries. Before, the Minsk regime's cash cow was mostly exported by rail via Lithuania.
Just a week ago, a bunch of Lithuanian top officials rushed in to deny the foreign minister’s words that Vilnius was coming under pressure from the United States over the Belaruskali question.
SHOTGUN MARRIAGE?
The Social Democrats might be getting cold feet over their coalition with Nemunas Dawn. If you’re wondering why, things like this certainly don’t help – the populist leader of the controversial partner claimed there was going to be a coup in the country.
EDITOR’S PICKS:
– People in Lithuania work the fewest weekends in the EU, even if the data could be a bit crooked.
– Women are still typecast in ultra-traditional roles in Lithuanian textbooks.
– Some Lithuanian MPs are fond of cash.
– Did you know there is an accessible Nazi bunker near Klaipėda on the Baltic coast?
– What’s the profile of a typical cigarette smuggler?
– And check out this sushi chef.
Written by Benas Gerdžiūnas
Edited by Austė Sargytė
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