What Others Write About Lithuania – 31 October 2026

In brief

• According to RMF24 (Poland) and Європейська правда, citing LRT, power transmission via the Nordbalt cable between Sweden and Lithuania was interrupted on Friday afternoon due to a fault on the Swedish side. The operator Litgrid reported that backup systems were activated and supplies to consumers were not interrupted.
• According to Reuters, as cited by TVN24 and Wirtualna Polska, Pentagon officials, including Elbridge Colby, reportedly asked Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to soften their tone toward Russia. Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas stated that he has no official information about such a request, and Lithuania does not intend to provoke Russia.
• According to Politico, as relayed by Bankier.pl, Українська правда and NV, US special envoy John Coale is pressing Lithuania to open the port of Klaipėda for Belarusian potash and fertilizers despite EU sanctions. The Russian outlet Vesti.ru (described in the material as propaganda media) presents the matter as pressure from Washington.
• Prime Minister of Lithuania Mindaugas Sinkevičius, according to Європейська правда, denies US pressure, calls the publications an "attempt to test the reaction" and announces that a review of sanctions policy is not planned.
• According to Європейська правда, the ethics committee of ISM University found five cases of plagiarism and two cases of improper use of text in the prime minister's 2015 doctoral dissertation. Sinkevičius announced a corrected version of the work, which the doctoral committee will review.

Polish press

Poland's RMF24 reports on a failure of Lithuania's undersea power connection with Sweden, the Nordbalt cable. According to the portal, after the power was cut, the Lithuanian grid operator activated reserves, and a statement assured that electricity supplies to consumers were not disrupted. RMF24 recalls that the cable, 453 km long, of which about 400 km runs along the Baltic seabed, has been operating since December 2015, and in November 2024 it came close to being damaged by an anchor, according to the Swedish operator Svenska Kraftnät, although it was ultimately not damaged. (Awaria podmorskiego połączenia energetycznego Litwy ze Szwecją – RMF24)

Poland's TVN24 reports that, according to Reuters, Pentagon officials, including Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, had in recent weeks asked several NATO countries, including Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, to soften their tone toward Russia. As TVN24 relates, Poland's Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that no one had asked him to take such a step, and Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said he has no official information about such a US request. According to TVN24, Kaunas assured that Lithuania does not intend to provoke Russia, but only to present facts. (Amerykanie wzywali do złagodzenia tonu wobec Rosji? Jest reakcja szefów MON Polski i Litwy – TVN24) Bankier.pl also writes that Kaunas responded to these reports on Friday, in reaction to media publications according to which the Pentagon had asked NATO countries to soften their tone toward Russia.

According to Polish Bankier.pl, citing Politico, US envoy to Belarus John Coale is demanding that Lithuanian authorities consent to transporting Belarusian potash to the US through the port of Klaipėda. The same publisher reports that similar pressure is expected to concern Latvia. ("Naciskają uprzejmie, my mówimy: nie, k…!". Ostra reakcja Europy na żądania USA w sprawie Białorusi – Bankier.pl)

According to Poland's Wirtualna Polska, Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas assured on Friday that Lithuania does not intend to provoke Russia but only presents facts, and responded to reports that the Pentagon had asked Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to soften their tone toward Moscow. Wirtualna Polska reports that Reuters, citing four anonymous sources, pointed to Elbridge Colby among others as a person involved in conveying the request, and it is unknown whether a similar message reached other countries. Kaunas admitted he has no official information about such a US request (Litwa o prośbie Pentagonu: Jedynie przedstawiamy fakty – Wirtualna Polska). The Ukrainian Європейська правда also covers this thread, showing that reports about the Pentagon's position provoked reactions beyond the Baltic states (У Литві відповіли на повідомлення про прохання Пентагону щодо РФ: "Констатуємо факти" – Європейська правда).

According to the Polish portal Business Insider Polska, two decades ago construction of a 38-storey hotel was planned right on the Baltic shore, near Klaipėda in Lithuania, which was to tower over the city and its surroundings. The investment was never built, and Business Insider Polska, citing ve.it, reports that the plot is now for sale for €3 million. (Ten wieżowiec miał być symbolem miasta, ale nigdy nie powstał. Została działka za 3 mln euro – Business Insider Polska)

Ukrainian press

Ukraine's Українська правда, citing Politico (via Європейська правда), reports that the Donald Trump administration is pressing Lithuania to open the port of Klaipėda for export of Belarusian potash fertilizers despite EU sanctions. According to four anonymous European officials cited by Politico, US special envoy John Coale has for several weeks been sounding out Lithuanian diplomats about easing the blockade of Belarusian goods. Українська правда notes that Lithuania could theoretically veto the extension of sanctions scheduled for February, but this material does not cite Vilnius's position on the matter. (ЗМІ: Адміністрація Трампа тисне на Литву, щоб та скасувала санкції щодо добрив з Білорусі – Українська правда) Європейська правда also writes about this, citing a statement by Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius: he denies US pressure, calls the publications an "attempt to test the reaction", and states that a review of sanctions policy is not currently planned (У Литві заперечують дані про тиск США з вимогою скасувати санкції щодо добрив з Білорусі – Європейська правда).

Ukraine's NV, citing the American Politico, writes that the Donald Trump administration is pressing Lithuania to resume export of Belarusian potash fertilizers through the port of Klaipėda, which according to the portal would weaken EU sanctions against Lukashenko's regime. As NV reports, citing Politico, four European sources indicate that US special envoy John Coale has intensified contacts with Lithuanian diplomats in recent weeks. The same portal notes that Lithuania, which takes over the EU presidency from the beginning of next year, could theoretically block the extension of sanctions planned for February, which would lead to their expiry. («Хр*н вам». Литва отказывается открывать порты для белорусского калия, несмотря на давление США — Politico – NV)

Ukraine's Європейська правда, citing Lithuania's LRT, reports that power transmission via the NordBalt cable between Sweden and Lithuania was interrupted on Friday afternoon due to a fault at a station on the Swedish side. According to the operator Litgrid, backup systems were activated and power supplies to consumers in Lithuania were not interrupted. The Lithuanian navy increased surveillance of the cable in January last year after Swedish reports of damage from an anchor. (Електропередача між Швецією та Литвою була перервана – Європейська правда) The same failure is described by Poland's RMF24, according to which the power cut did not disrupt supplies to consumers.

According to Ukraine's Європейська правда, Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas on Friday, 30 October, responded to reports that Pentagon representatives had asked several NATO countries to soften their rhetoric toward Russia. The minister stated that he has no information about such a request, and that Lithuania bases its assessments of Russia on facts and does not intend to provoke anyone; however, he does not know whether the US request actually reached Vilnius. A similar thread is described by Poland's TVN24, which cites Reuters and indicates that the request was reportedly also directed to Latvia and Estonia. Europeiska правда, citing LRT, similarly writes that the administration of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda stated that its president and advisers had not received such requests from allies, while Reuters points to Elbridge Colby, head of policy at the Pentagon and a key figure in the review of US troop levels in Europe (У президента Литви кажуть, що не отримували закликів пом’якшити риторику щодо РФ від США – Європейська правда).

Ukraine's Європейська правда reports that Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius announced a revision of his doctoral dissertation after plagiarism accusations, as he wrote on Facebook. According to the portal, the ethics committee of ISM University found in the 2015 work, concerning alcohol consumption, five cases of plagiarism and two cases of improper use of text that does not constitute plagiarism. The prime minister announced a public corrected version with supplemented references, which the doctoral committee will review, and stated that he wrote the work independently and that international experts took part in the re-evaluation. (Прем'єр Литви пообіцяв переробити докторську дисертацію після звинувачень у плагіаті – Європейська правда)

Russian press

According to Russia's Vesti.ru (propaganda media), Kremlin propaganda presents the matter as Washington pressing Lithuania to resume export of Belarusian potash fertilizer through the port of Klaipėda; the service cites Politico and anonymous sources. Vesti.ru (propaganda media) reports that the EU ban on exports of Belarusian goods through EU ports must be extended every 12 months, and that in 2027 the EU presidency will pass to Lithuania, which, as the service writes, could theoretically veto further sanctions. According to this message, US special envoy John Coale sounded out Lithuanian diplomats about easing the blockade, and Donald Trump announced in September a "big deal" with Minsk concerning fertilizers. (Вашингтон требует возобновить экспорт удобрений из Белоруссии через Клайпеду – Wiesti.ru (media propagandowe))

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