LRT English Newsletter – July 3, 2026.
Lithuania’s prime minister-designate, Mindaugas Sinkevičius, has been busy gathering his new cabinet. While some were routine announcements, a few choices for ministers have raised eyebrows across the political establishment (and the media).
Namely, Sinkevičius has nominated Martynas Katelynas to lead the Interior Ministry. President Gitanas Nausėda also approved the candidate, saying their views on migration matched. Now, this is where it gets weird. Katelynas started his political career with the far-right National Alliance and previously called for “lethal means” to stop migrants from crossing the border. On a very minor side note, he previously compared Lithuania’s police officers with the Belarusian OMON that tortured and killed anti-regime protesters. If confirmed, he will oversee the police.
CHINA QUESTION – AGAIN
There have been developments on the China front, with a senior MP saying Beijing was open to normalising diplomatic relations. The price might be steep, however. One coalition partner said the name of the Taiwanese office in Vilnius could be renamed. To get a larger perspective, our colleague analysed the experience of other countries in resetting their China relations.
NEW PARTY
Ignas Vėgėlė announced this week that he would be creating a new party, Piliečių Lietuva (Citizens’ Lithuania, or Lithuania for Citizens). He said it would be a genuine centre-right party, taking a stab at the Homeland Union conservatives who are, he seems to suggest, too liberal. The lawyer rose to political prominence during the Covid pandemic by speaking out against quarantine restrictions and mandatory vaccination, and ran semi-successfully in the 2024 presidential election (he finished third). It looks like Nemunas Dawn will have a contender for the country’s protest votes.
CORRUPTION AND ALLEGED CORRUPTION
Two soldiers and five civilians were charged with taking bribes to get people off the hook from military conscription. The Armed Forces picked at the positives in the affair, saying that reports about the wrongdoing came from within the military itself.
In another (potential) corruption story, the LRT Investigation Team found that the PM-to-be Sinkevičius, while being a mayor, bought state land and later sold it at a fivefold profit. It’s important to stress that no official allegations of any wrongdoing have been made against him, but the affair looks unsavoury to say the least.
LITHUANIA GOING NUCLEAR?
All parties in Lithuania back the idea of removing a constitutional clause that bans the deployment of nuclear weapons on the country’s territory, according to President Nausėda. There are several reasons why this is happening – some lawmakers say Lithuania is one of the few countries in NATO that have such a prohibition. Others point to Finland, which recently revoked such a restriction. Meanwhile, some point to discussions in France of offering Europe a nuclear deterrent, or talks in Washington about stationed American nukes in several more European countries.
ECONOMY UPDATES
Here are the key updates from the past week:
– Expect to pay a 3-euro fee for orders from Chinese platforms like Temu and AliExpress.
– Lithuania’s first offshore wind farm project is not doing too great.
– Minimum wage is set to rise to 1,245 euros before tax.
– The prices of homes in Lithuania have risen sharply – again.
– The Snoras bank case is finally reaching its climax, with one of the shareholders pleading guilty and another one believed to be living in Russia.
EDITOR’S PICKS:
– Around 150 people gathered outside Vilnius City Hall on Wednesday to protest planned development along the Neris River.
– Please station American troops here permanently, Baltic leaders plead with the Republicans.
– Russia is more likely to resort to hybrid provocations than launch a conventional military attack against NATO’s eastern flank, Lithuania’s ambassador to the alliance said.
– A Vilnius bridge has opened in Kyiv.
– Russian speakers in Vilnius are choosing to hold driving exams in Polish and Ukrainian following a ban on the Russian language.
Written by Benas Gerdžiūnas
Edited by Justinas Šuliokas
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