Last week, Lithuanian Post said it would increase service prices, lay off 600 employees, but Seimas recognised Russian actions in Ukraine as genocide. Police in Kaunas investigated appearance of Kremlin’s war symbols.
Russian war symbols appear in Kaunas
Russia’s war symbol, the «Z» letter, being used in Ukraine appeared on trees at the Soldiers’ Cemetery in the Šančiai area of Kaunas, Lithuania’s second-largest city. The signs were reported to local police on Monday, May 9, said Odeta Vaitkevičienė, a spokeswoman for Kaunas District police. According to the Department of Cultural Heritage, the Soldiers’ Cemetery in the Aukštieji Šančiai area was established in 1891 for the soldiers of the Russian army’s Kaunas garrison. The cemetery was abandoned during WWI and the burial of Lithuanian soldiers started in a separate plot around 1922. In 1944, the burial of Soviet soldiers began in the northern part of the cemetery.
Lithuania likely to extend state of emergency into July
Lithuania is likely to extend the state of emergency after it expires in late June, Kęstutis Budrys, President Gitanas Nausėda’s chief national security advisor, said on Tuesday, May 10. The legal regime allows the authorities to respond more sensitively and quickly, to prevent possible provocations and to combat propaganda and cyber-attacks, according to Budrys. Under the law, a state of emergency can be introduced by the parliament if there is a threat to the constitutional order. The advisor noted that these threats have not diminished. The state of emergency was first declared after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February and was then extended until June 29.
SEB raises Lithuania’s 2022 GDP forecast to 0.9 pct
SEB has revised its forecast for Lithuania’s GDP growth in 2022 up to 0.9 percent, from 0.1 percent in late March, and has raised its projection for 2023 to 1.8 percent. SEB Lithuania’s economist Tadas Povilauskas says that the upward revision reflects expectations of a less sharp economic downturn in the second quarter, as well as a positive impact of the government’s anti-inflationary package on consumption, but notes that the forecast is rather pessimistic. According to SEB, its analysts stick to their forecast that the Lithuanian economy will contract in the second and third quarters, meaning that a technical recession will not be avoided.
Lithuania recognises Russian actions in Ukraine as genocide
The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, on Tuesday, May 10, unanimously recognised the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine as genocide of the Ukrainian people and Russia as a state that supports and perpetrates terrorism. The resolution was passed with 128 votes in favour, none against and no abstentions. The resolution states that Russia’s armed forces and mercenaries have committed mass war crimes on Ukrainian territory, in particular in Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, Borodyanka and Hostomel. According to the document, the intent is to wholly or partially destroy the Ukrainian nation and break its spirit by killing entire families, including children, even by abducting and raping people.
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President sees Macron proposals as attempt to cover up lack of will on Ukraine
Proposals to build a broader political community of democratic states around the European Union are an attempt to cover up the lack of political will to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said on Tuesday, May 10. Nausėda’s comment came after French President Emmanuel Macron said that it would take «decades» for a candidate like Ukraine to join the EU and suggested building a broader «European political community» around the bloc. The Lithuanian president said he was «not disappointed» by Macron’s timeframe for Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
Taiwanese company refuses to buy Lithuanian grain
A Taiwanese company has refrained to buy Lithuanian grain after several months of negotiations on Lithuanian exports, the Association of Lithuanian Grain Processors and Traders said on Wednesday, May 11. Its President Karolis Simas says the association has spent five months, trying to negotiate with two Taiwanese companies. One of them refused to buy grain and the other failed to respond to requests. The association had previously predicted that Taiwan would prefer US wheat even if it bought one or two ships of grain a year from Lithuania, he said. In late 2021, Taiwan’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine allowed imports of Lithuanian-origin common wheat and barley, sowing oats and peas for consumption but not for sowing.
Lithuania invites Finland, Sweden to apply for NATO
The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, on Wednesday, May 11, adopted a resolution inviting Finland and Sweden to apply for NATO membership, promising swift ratification. Initiated by Laurynas Kasčiūnas, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence, and Laima Liucija Andrikienė, chair of the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, the document states that the security situation in the region has changed as a result of the Russian-Belarusian war against Ukraine, adding that the accession of Finland and Sweden to the Alliance would significantly increase the region’s security and defence. The Seimas also hopes that if Finland and Sweden decide to join NATO, the ratification process in their parliaments will be smooth and swift, and also promised swift ratification in Lithuania.
Lithuanian court issues execution order in Paleckis case
A Lithuanian court on Wednesday, May 11, issued an order to execute the recent ruling in the case of Algirdas Paleckis, a former Lithuanian politician convicted of spying for Russia. Last week, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal upheld Šiauliai Regional Court’s ruling to sentence Paleckis to six years in prison, and now the Siauliai court issued the execution order. Paleckis, 50, has been out of custody so far but remained under intensive supervision after paying a bail of 50,000 euros. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Paleckis and Vilnius businessman Deimantas Bertauskas, acting in an organised group with a Russian intelligence officer, who was not identified in the pre-trial investigation, and other Russian citizens, including one convicted in the January 13, 1991 crackdown case, allegedly collected information of interest for Russian intelligence in Lithuania between February 2017 and October 2018 for monetary and other remuneration. The court of first instance exempted Bertauskas from criminal liability and his case was closed as he testified and provided evidence. Paleckis denied espionage charges, saying he was conducting a journalistic investigation.
Lithuanian Post to increase service prices, lay off 600 employees
Lietuvos Paštas (Lithuanian Post) is planning to increase prices for its services and lay off about 600 employees after reporting a net loss of 6.4 million euros last year amid a decline in conventional postal services, the state-owned company said on Thursday, May 12. The company plans to lay off around 600 of its 3,700 employees, with around 800,000 euros to be spent on their severance payments. Sungailienė attributed last year’s loss to a change in the revenue structure. According to the CEO, the decline was mostly due to the scrapping of a VAT relief on parcels from non-EU, which led to the flow of these parcels falling by 64 percent in the second half.
Week in Lithuania: Seimas deems Russian actions in Ukraine as genocide, Kaunas investigates appearance of Kremlin’s war symbols
