Latest Articles about Baltics
Can Turkish Drones Bolster NATO’s Eastern Flank Against Russia?
Turkish unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are becoming popular strategic assets and affordable military modernization solutions on the international arms market. Following Azerbaijan’s dramatic achievements in the Second Karabakh War (September 27–November 9, 2020), whose forces employed advanced Turkish military technologies, including combat drones, Ankara has... MORE
Minsk Flooding Lithuania With Illegal Migrants From Middle East
Angry at Lithuania for providing refuge to the Belarusian opposition and for criticizing Minsk’s recent action of forcing a plane to land in Belarus so that the authorities could arrest an opposition activist, the Belarusian government has deployed a new weapon of “hybrid war” against... MORE
NATO Summit: Strong on Russia but a Net Disappointment to Eastern Allies and Partners (Part One)
The heads of state and government of the North Atlantic Organization’s (NATO) 30 member countries held a summit at the Alliance’s Brussels headquarters on June 14. NATO summits usually take two days. This year’s vast agenda—reflected in an unusually long communiqué—clearly would have needed the... MORE
Belarus’s Ties With the West: The Implacable Downward Spiral
Belarusian authorities denied the official request of the opposition (see EDM, March 17) to celebrate Freedom Day on March 25. A year ago (April 2020), the government declared that anyone petitioning for the right to hold a public gathering would first have to attain consent... MORE
Lithuanian-Russian Radio Frequency Dispute Highlights Problems of Civilian Versus Military Applications
The ongoing expansion of wireless internet connectivity around the world has concurrently raised a host of unresolved issues about cyberspace, including access, conductivity, taxation and cyberwar, as states attempt to secure their digital frontier while boosting their influence against competitors. And cutting-edge technology innovation is,... MORE
China-CEEC Summit Returns After Pandemic—The View From Warsaw
The latest People’s Republic of China–Central and Eastern European Countries (China-CEEC) summit took place online, on February 9, after a one-year break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time, the high-level meeting was hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, aimed at providing the... MORE
Russians One Step Closer to Taking Over Handling of Belarusian Oil Product Exports?
On January 25, the government of the Russian Federation adopted a draft version of a bilateral agreement with Belarus on the diversion of some Belarusian refined oil product exports from the Baltic States’ transshipment terminals to Russian seaports (TASS, January 27). At first glance, the... MORE
Vilnius at 30—Nothing Must Be Forgotten
Thirty years ago tomorrow (January 13), Soviet forces fired at unarmed Lithuanians in Vilnius, killing 15 and thereby accelerating the recovery of the full independence of the Baltic countries as well as the demise of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Both the details... MORE
5G Technologies in Latvia Advance Military Capabilities and National Economy
In mid-November, Latvian officials inaugurated a 5G test site at the Ādaži military base, near Riga. The facility is the first of its kind not only in Latvia but throughout Europe. The 5G testing area will provide an opportunity for Latvian and allied armed forces... MORE
Three Seas Initiative Turns Five Years Old, With Summit Focusing on Digital Sphere
On October 19–20, Tallinn, Estonia, hosted the fifth summit of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI), a forum for dialogue involving a dozen European Union member states located in Central and Eastern Europe (ERR, October 19). The regional initiative was informally inaugurated in September 2015, on... MORE