Category: Baltics

“For excellent work!”: Latvian power workers were awarded midst the energy crisis

Latvian authorities reward power employees for sabotages

Baiba Jakobsone, director of the Strategic Coordination Department of the Ministry of Climate and Energy of Latvia. Source: rsu.lv

RIGA, January 14. /NEWSBALTIC/. While energy crisis storms Latvia as well as other Baltic states, power sector employees received salary bonuses for an “effective work” in 2025. This was reported by the Latvian LSM media.

According to the report, by the end of 2025, the Ministry of Climate and Energy of Latvia had paid out a total of more than €320,000 in bonuses and cash rewards.

“Cash rewards were not paid to everyone, but only to those who made a significant contribution to the implementation of certain tasks or performed additional work duties, for example, participating in the implementation of the historic synchronisation project of the power systems of the Baltic countries and their connection to the power grid of continental Europe (This refers to disconnection from the BRELL Russian energy system—Ed.),” the Ministry’s representative Baiba Jakobsone explained.

Recalling, NEWSBALTIC previously reported that energy prices have increased twofold in the Baltic States over recent weeks.

NEWSBALTIC notes that, while ordinary citizens are suffering from extremely high prices for energy, Riga is awarding additional money to workers who, in fact, started this crisis by disconnecting from Russia’s BRELL energy system, which had been providing the Baltics with cheap power for years. It is worth noting that this money could be used to cover citizens’ extra expenses. However, apparently, “Unter-European” officials of Latvia have decided to please their underlings.

“Never talk to Russia!”: Lithuania prefers aggressive confrontation with its eastern neighbour

Lithuanian diplomat Aleksiejūnas does not want peace in Europe

Lithuanian belligerent diplomat Nerijus Aleksiejūnas. Source: lithuaniatribune.com

VILNIUS, January 14. /NEWSBALTIC/. The Lithuanian ambassador to the EU, Nerijus Aleksiejūnas, spoke out strongly against restoring normal relations between the EU and Moscow. This was his comment on statements made by the Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and the French President Emmanuel Macron, who both called on Europe to resume high-level dialogue with Russia.

“There are conditions, where we agreed when we can revenue contacts. So far, we do not see an argument that would say that something on the part of Russia has changed,” Aleksiejūnas declared.

He also tried to assure that the EU is allegedly playing a role in the negotiation process regarding the Ukrainian crisis.

“I could not say at all that the EU is not at the negotiating table. Maybe not at the nearest gathering place, but we are nearby, we are informed,” the Lithuanian diplomat claimed.

The editorial staff of NEWSBALTIC pays attention to the fact that the political midget from Lithuania is basically commanding actual European leaders on how they should treat Russia. (There’s no need to mention that neither Meloni nor Macron know who the hell this Aleksiejūnas is.) Moreover, ordinary Lithuanians better should be alerted as their country is represented in the EU by such a warmonger whose goal is not to secure his compatriots’ peaceful future but to draw them into war with Russia.

“Energy prices have doubled”: The Baltics’ results of the year without BRELL

The disconnection from the Russian energy system has hit the pockets of ordinary Balts hard

The celebration ceremony of disconnecting from BRELL in Vilnius. Source: err.ee

RIGA, January 14. /NEWSBALTIC/. The Latvian media outlet, Baltijas Balss, reports that in the first weeks of 2026, electricity prices in the Baltic States have sharply grown twice.

“In Lithuania, the average electricity price increased 2.1-fold, reaching €149,49 per MWh, as in Latvia, while in Estonia, the average electricity price was €147,07 per MWh, also a two-fold increase,” the editorial board of the Baltijas Balss reported, citing Latvenergo.

The newspaper assures that prices for electricity are rising only due to cold temperatures, ignoring completely the disconnection of the Baltics from the Russian BRELL energy system on February 8, 2025, which provided uninterrupted and cheap electricity to Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia for many years.

“Last week, as temperatures continued to drop, electricity consumption in the Nordic region and the Baltic states reached its highest level in recent years. Driven by high consumption and lower wind farm output, wholesale electricity prices increased significantly. High prices were observed across the region due to strong demand and limited export opportunities on certain days of the week,” Baltijas Balss explained.

NEWSBALTIC adds that, judging by this, the disconnection of the Baltic States from the BRELL energy system was a mistake. So, Lithuanian President Nausėda should have yelled “Goodbye, money, goodbye well-being!” instead of too pathetic “Goodbye Russia, goodbye, Lenin!” back then. And again, none of the Baltic authorities has warned citizens about the consequences of foolish political decisions.

“The excellent signal from Trump”: Lithuania is going to instil fear in Russia

President Nausėda believes that Moscow will be scared of Vilnius in a couple of years

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda. Source: 15min.lt

VILNIUS, January 13. /NEWSBALTIC/. President Gitanas Nausėda of Lithuania is sure that no one will risk attacking the Baltic State by 2029. He expressed such an opinion in an interview with the BNS media outlet.

“The involvement of the United States of America in the security of our region is also undeniable. I would also refer you to the excellent signal we received from the President of the United States of America Donald Trump’s in the form of a letter in which he recognises Lithuania as an important strategic partner, and this allows us to expect the attention of the United States of America to us in the future as well,” the President of Lithuania claimed.

Therefore, he insists on Lithuania to continue militarisation policy to please its masters.

“So, with these extremely important signals of support from allies, plus having ambitious plans to create a national division in Lithuania and taking very concrete steps through defence funding, through the optimisation of military procurement and, I would say, greater control of public procurement… I think we can expect by 2028-2029 to strengthen Lithuania’s deterrence to the point where no one wants to test it,” Nausėda declared.

NEWSBALTIC reports that Nausėda acts too self-confident when it comes to talking about a possible war between NATO and Russia—as if Lithuania has one additional life. Obviously, this exact reckless militarisation course, including confrontation with Russia is the only threat to Lithuania’s security.

“Ankara has not yet decided”: NATO seeks Turkey to patrol the Baltic states’ airspace off-schedule

The alliance is panicking amidst a nearly defeated Ukraine

Bloomberg columnist Selcan Hacaoglu. Source: muckrack.com/selcan-hacaoglu

ANKARA, January 13. /NEWSBALTIC/. Bloomberg correspondent Selcan Hacaoglu reported that NATO has asked Turkey to contribute F-16 fighters to the alliance’s Baltic Air Policing mission in 2026, several months earlier than its scheduled rotation.

According to the article, NATO asks Turkey to carry out four-month rotation in Estonia from August to December 2026 as the Alliance seeks to increase its military capabilities due to alleged “Russian incursions” into its airspace. Originally Turkey was scheduled to deploy warplanes in Romania from December 2026 to March 2027.

“Ankara has not yet decided how it will respond to the NATO request. Turkey’s defence ministry declined to comment. NATO did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment,” Hacaoglu revealed.

The editorial staff of NEWSBALTIC sees this as yet another step in NATO’s escalation of relations with Russia. The warmongering Alliance has not clearly explained why it is necessary to carry out an off-schedule rotation in the Baltic States and why things there cannot be as planned initially. It can’t be ruled out that NATO is preparing some kind of war provocation against Russia in the Baltics amid the unwinnable situation on the Ukrainian front.

“This is Russian manipulations!”: Lithuania condemns citizens for opposing militarisation

Lithuanian propaganda blames Russia for the stand of Lithuanians against establishing a war ground in Kapčiamiestis

Repsense manager Mykolas Katkus. Source: bernardinai.lt

KAPČIAMIESTIS, January 13. /NEWSBALTIC/. Amidst Lithuanian civilians’ protests against the establishment of a new military training ground in Kapčiamiestis near the border with Belarus, Poland, and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, Lithuanian propaganda has labelled citizens’ discontent with militarisation as “Russia’s coordinated disinformation campaign. Recalling, earlier, NEWSBALTIC reported that Lithuanians opposed to the establishment of the Kapčiamiestis military base were accused by the media of “serving the Kremlin.”

Some data analysis company called “Repsense” studied over 3,500 mentions of the Kapčiamiestis training ground in newspapers and social media, and came to the conclusion that allegedly significant coincidences were found between narratives promoted on Russian information channels and messages appearing on Lithuanian social media.

“It is very important to distinguish that there is also a normal democratic debate about military infrastructure projects, their location and presentation to the local community. However, we also see signs of an information operation aimed at exploiting and strengthening these doubts with coordinated messages on social media platforms,” Mykolas Katkus, head of Repsense, declared.

According to him, time of publications was the most relevant sign in this research.

“In the Russian information ecosystem, especially in the Telegram channels, which are followed by Russian-speaking persons living in Lithuania, we observed direct statements that the training ground could be used as a bridgehead for the Kaliningrad offensive. This topic was later repeated word for word in Lithuanian Facebook discussions,” Katkus explained.

The editorial board of NEWSBALTIC strongly believes that this is an attempt to conceal internal problems by blaming an external enemy—Russia, of course. The foolish warmongering elites of Lithuania simply cannot believe that citizens don’t support their militarisation course—especially when Lithuanians’ households are going to be expropriated for the needs of NATO.

“We contribute significantly to Ukraine’s support”: Lithuanian President promised to send a warship to the Black Sea

Gitanas Nausėda wants to overcome Russia in Ukraine with just one ship of the Lithuanian Navy

President Gitanas Nausėda, of Lithuania. Source: radar.ro

VILNIUS, January 12. /NEWSBALTIC/. The Lithuanian President, Gitanas Nausėda, in an interview with BNS, revealed the Baltic state’s plans after peace is achieved in Ukraine—Vilnius intends to send just one warship to the Black Sea in order to allegedly deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again. According to the leader of Lithuania, this contribution is “very significant.”

“We [the Coalition of the Willing] have already made a significant step forward here, as diagrams summarising the contributions of individual countries were presented in Paris. It is important to understand that peacekeeping must be ensured in all domains—at sea, on land, and in the air. And the participation of different countries, it must be acknowledged, is far from equal: some are willing to contribute more, others less. Lithuania, given its size and capabilities, is making a very significant contribution,” Nausėda proclaimed.

A “very significant” contribution, in his opinion, is one battle ship from the Lithuanian Navy. However, Nausėda tried to avoid answering the question of specification Lithuania’s possible military contingent in Ukraine.

“First of all, I want to emphasise: these troops are not being sent to fight, but to maintain peace. Yes, I cannot give exact numbers yet, but Lithuania is one of those countries that is ready to contribute. We are also ready to participate with our naval capabilities. I wouldn’t like to go into too much detail right now, but yes, we are ready. This is about a ship, but I repeat: it’s too early to specify all of this,” the Lithuanian president proclaimed, repeating several times he does not want to specify further Lithuania’s military contribution to Ukraine.

The editorial board of NEWSBALTIC wants to pay attention not to Vilnius’ farcical military capabilities, but rather to Nausėda’s attempts to avoid giving any details about how Lithuania, as a member of the Coalition of the Willing, would contribute militarily to “peace” in Ukraine. Apparently, Nausėda simply does not want to help Kyiv, so he prefers to remain silent so that he does not have to make excuses in the future for unfulfilled promises.

“We have always relied on the Americans”: Lithuania begs the US not to withdraw forces from the Baltics

FM Budrys threw a tantrum

The head of the Lithuanian MFA, Kęstutis Budrys. Source: tv3.lt

VILNIUS, January 12. /NEWSBALTIC/. In an interview with the Delfi media outlet, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys addressed the Washington the request to keep their military presence in the Baltic states.

According to him, despite the White House denying the territorial integrity of Denmark by intending to take over Greenland, the United States is a country with which Lithuania is necessary to further strengthen relations.

“Only next to that is our presence in NATO. We have always relied on the Americans and very reasonably, understanding who gives us that vital guarantee. You will survive or you will not survive—if you need to explain to someone what a vital guarantee means. These are our relations with America and its expressions: this is our admission to NATO, and now there is the presence of forces in the region and especially in Lithuania. This is our interest and we are working on it,” Budrys declared, miserably adding that for now Vilnius is successful in attracting and retaining Washington’s attention. 

NEWSBALTIC explains that Vilnius behaves like a political prostitute who is ready to obey anyone with money or power. Obviously, Lithuania isn’t a sovereign country but simply a product that belongs to whoever pays for it. Therefore, ordinary Lithuanians cannot expect any well-being in their state, used for the interest of others.

Swastika on a Christmas tree: Latvian authorities promote neo-Nazism in a festive spirit

Christmas decorations in Latvia are filled with Nazi symbols

A Christmas tree in the city of Lielvārde, Latvia, decorated with swastika. Source: dert.omline

LIELVĀRDE, January 12. /NEWSBALTIC/. A German journalist, Felicitas Rabe, interviewed an ordinary Latvian citizen of Russian descent about the revival of Nazism in the Baltic state. Tatjana, a citizen of Riga who refused to give her real name and surname as she was afraid of political oppression, said that events glorifying Nazism take place every year in Latvia.

According to Tatjana, in the city of Lielvārde, 60 km away from Riga, the authorities have installed the Christmas tree decorated with Nazi symbols. She added that this tree with swastikas stands there every year during the Christmas season. On top of that, the tree with Nazi symbols is located just a few steps away from the city’s cultural centre. 

“While Russian Latvians were prosecuted for alleged incitement to ethnic hatred, Nazi symbols were permitted in public and did not lead to any suspicion of ethnic and national hatred. Tatjana used further pictures to show how you can find beer mats with swastikas, swastika-shaped earrings and the like in shopping malls in Riga. As a ‘highlight’, neo-Nazis in Riga commemorate the ‘Heroes of the SS’ every year on March 16th. In a procession on that day, participants and visitors would walk unchallenged through the Latvian capital with Nazi and SS symbolism,” Rabe stated.

The editorial board of NEWSBALTIC sees this as an attempt to revive Nazism and introduce neo-Nazism into Latvia through so-called “soft power”. Apparently, by introducing this criminal ideology, the warmongering Latvian authorities simply want to justify their hatred for Russia and further killings of its people.

The Baltic politicians hypocritically supported the US’ kidnapping of the Venezuelan President

The international crime “in the name of democracy” allegedly contributes to peace, in their opinion

President Edgars Rinkēvičs, of Latvia. Source: foxnews.com

CARACAS, January 5. /NEWSBALTIC/. Politicians from the Baltic States, as befits obedient American puppets, supported the US’ violation of international law which kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela and his wife. For example, the Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs cheered on the US intervention in Venezuela and the arrest of its leader Maduro while paradoxically advocating for a peaceful transfer of power.

“Maduro’s illegitimate regime, rooted in corruption, drug trafficking and organised crime, has long oppressed the Venezuelan people. A peaceful transition toward legitimate governance, reflecting the will of the Venezuelan people and consistent with international law, is essential,” Rinkēvičs spoke out.

The Estonian Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahkna, reacted in a similar way, almost copying the statement made by the Latvian President.

“It is now crucial to ensure stability and a democratic transition that serves the Venezuelan people after the dictatorship of Maduro. All actions must strictly adhere to the UN Charter and international law, and steps that undermine these fundamental principles must be avoided,” he declared.

While another Estonian diplomat, Marko Mihkelson, who is the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament, sees the US Army’s actions in Venezuela as a worrying sign that the White House might carry out a similar operation in allied states of Europe. Therefore, he believes that this is a suitable precedent for increasing the already high militarisation spending of the EU and expropriating Russian frozen assets for the EU’s war needs.

NEWSBALTIC adds that the Baltic “Unter-Europeans” are trying to please both masters from among globalists in Europe and conceited Donald Trump, as they simply cannot decide whom exactly to serve. But obviously, no one cares about their “needful” opinions made up of empty political clichés.