Last week, MPs amended law setting one-third quota for women in leadership positions; Minister said Rheinmetall plant in Lithuania ‘still needs work’
Lithuania first in EU to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as terrorist organisation
Lithuania has become the first country in the European Union to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, Emanuelis Zingeris, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, said on Friday, the 4th of October. In its resolution passed on Thursday, the 3rd of October, the Seimas declares that the IRGC is a terrorist organization and that its activities pose a threat to international security and stability. It calls on the EU to follow the lead of the United States and Canada and include the IRGC on the bloc’s list of terrorist organizations.
Lithuania acquires additional NASAMS systems for 234 million euros
Lithuania has purchased additional NASAMS medium-range air defence systems for 234 million euros, Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas said on Friday, the 4th of October. The contract was signed on Thursday, the 3rd of October, the minister said, adding that the increase in defence funding had helped to bring forward the purchase planned for 2031. This is the third NASAMS system acquired by Lithuania. According to the minister, its delivery to Lithuania will start in the second quarter of 2028. The first NASAMS battery is already in Lithuania, while the second battery will start to be delivered in the first quarter of 2026 and will finally arrive by 2027. A contract for the acquisition of a RBS70 NG short-range air defence system (MSHORAD) for around 130 million euro was also signed earlier this week.
Prosecutors open probe into TV host’s remarks about Russian-speakers
The Vilnius District Prosecutor’s Office said on Thursday, the 3rd of October, that it has opened a pre-trial investigation into television host Algis Ramanauskas’ remarks about people who consume Russian culture. The probe was launched under the Criminal Code’s article on public incitement to violence and physical violent treatment against a group of persons or individuals based on their nationality and language. The authorities will investigate whether a crime was committed in connection with a video publicly released on the 13th of September, which allegedly records Ramanauskas’ hate speech. The pre-trial investigation was launched after examining and evaluating complaints from eight individuals and evidence collected during the clarification of the circumstances. In a YouTube chat with Vytautas Sinica of the National Alliance party, Ramanauskas made hostile remarks about Russian-speakers and those who consume Russian culture, saying that they should be “deprived of their children and then shot”. After facing criticism, Ramanauskas apologized for his remarks.
Reports on arrested Ukrainian intelligence agents seek to discredit Lithuania
Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) on Thursday, the 3rd of October, dismissed as a provocation reports that two Ukrainian military intelligence agents had been detained in Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave while trying to cross the border from Lithuania. The centre described the information circulated by Russian media as an attempt to discredit Lithuania. Earlier on Thursday, Russian and Belarusian media reported, citing the FSB press service, that the Russian security service had detained two employees of HUR, Ukraine’s military intelligence service, in the Kaliningrad region for attempting to cross the border from Lithuania. According to the media, the Ukrainians were detained for spying at the Russian-Lithuanian border, possibly as part of a plan to infiltrate agents. Additionally, they reportedly intended to kidnap a HUR employee’s child, who is a Russian citizen.
MPs’ amendments pave way for at least one-third of leadership positions for women
The Lithuanian parliament on Thursday, the 3rd of October, amended the law to require that by July 2026, at least one-third of leadership positions in publicly listed companies be held by women. The amendments to the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men passed 67 MPs voting in favour, nine abstaining, and no votes against. Listed companies and other major businesses will have to ensure that women hold between 33 and 49% of top executive, management board and supervisory board positions by July 2026. Additionally, when two candidates of different sexes are equally qualified, preference will be given to the candidate of the underrepresented sex. The Social Security and Labor Ministry says the amendments are aimed at transposing the EU’s directive on gender balance on corporate boards into national law. Lithuania has around 30 large, listed companies and about 540 other large companies, including state-owned and municipal enterprises.
Train staff had to wipe off Russian army symbols from carriages at Kena
A Moscow-Kaliningrad transit train bearing unauthorized inscriptions was allowed to cross Lithuania by border guards only after the train manager and her subordinates wiped off the symbols, Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service said on Thursday, the 3rd of October. The train with Russian army symbols and provocative inscriptions arrived at the Kena railway border checkpoint from Belarus on Wednesday, the 2nd of October. Lithuanian border guards noticed the Z symbol used by the Russian army and a ZOV (in Latin characters) inscription spray-painted in black paint on one of the carriages. The adjacent carriage had an inscription Cyrillic in Russian “Vilnius – Russia’s city”. The train staff was ordered to immediately remove the inscriptions and warned that otherwise the passengers would have to change to other carriages as the ones with inscriptions would be unhitched and not allowed to enter Lithuania. The inscriptions were removed by the train under the border guards’ supervision.
Lithuania bans trips to Russia, Belarus for people handling classified info
Lithuanian lawmakers on Wednesday, the 2nd of October, voted in favour of a ban on employees of certain institutions and members of the paramilitary Riflemen’s Union who are authorized to handle classified information from traveling to countries deemed unfriendly to Lithuania. The Seimas adopted amendments to the Law on State Secrets and Official Secrets with 80 votes in favour. Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas has said earlier the amendments are aimed at restricting employees of “entities of secrets” from traveling to countries or territories where their presence could jeopardize Lithuania’s national security.
Minister says Rheinmetall plant in Lithuania ‘still needs work’
Lithuania has already carried out the necessary preparatory work for Rheinmetall’s planned artillery ammunition factory, Economy and Innovation Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė said on Wednesday, the 2nd of October, after the government approved a proposal to change the land use designation for a site earmarked for the German defence giant’s project. However, Armonaitė added that “there’s still work to be done” before construction can begin, noting that discussions continue with Rheinmetall on the project’s financing and the production of the ammunition Lithuania needs.
Lithuanian MPs find common ground on state recognition for neo-pagans
The Lithuanian parliament on Tuesday, the 1st of October, agreed to return to the issue of granting state recognition to Romuva, a religious association that says it practices an ancient Baltic pagan faith. Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius, chairman of the Seimas Committee on Human Rights, tabled two draft resolutions, one granting Romuva the status of a state‑recognized religious association and the other denying that status. The resolution granting recognition passed its first reading in the parliament in a vote of 43 to 21 with 11 abstentions. In September 2023, the Seimas rejected a proposal to grant Romuva state recognition, but declined to consider an alternative draft resolution that would have formally denied that status.
Lithuania refers Belarus to ICC over Lukashenko regime’s crimes against humanity
Lithuania on Monday, the 30th of September, referred Belarus to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over crimes against humanity committed by the Alexander Lukashenko regime, the Justice Ministry said on Monday. In its referral to the ICC, Lithuania said there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that “crimes against humanity, including deportation, persecution and other inhumane acts” have been carried out against civilians in Belarus since the 1st of May 2020. Following Belarus’ 2020 presidential elections, which were not recognized by the West, civil society in the country revolted against the authoritarian regime, but these initiatives were suppressed through mass persecution, torture, arrests, and illegal convictions and imprisonments.