Lithuania

/u201cThere is no water scarcity problem,\u201d Valaika tells Euronews Green, though she recognises things could change if <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2023//06//20//extreme-heatwave-exposes-submerged-church-and-triggers-water-shortages-in-mexico/">droughts become more frequent.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, the climate is changing rapidly in Lithuania, as it is around the world.<\/p>\n<p>Summers are getting <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2023//05//22//we-cant-escape-the-reality-france-is-preparing-for-4c-of-warming-by-2100/">warmer and drier, winters warmer and less snowy, while heatwaves are becoming more common, she concedes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese extremes show us that climate change is happening and normal climatic conditions are becoming less frequent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Authorities in Lithuania and the European Union are taking action to tackle the phenomenon, with emissions falling 10 per cent between 2005 and 2021, according to the European Parliamentary Research Service.<\/p>\n<p>But Valaika claims it is nowhere near fast enough, urging people to also \u201cdo their part\u201d and help the environment through private initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople in general are quite stubborn,\" she says. \"We don&#039;t want to see the uncomfortable truth in order not to change the way we live and actually do something. I really hope this <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2023//05//27//spains-climate-election-could-heatwaves-and-the-drought-stricken-donana-wetlands-influence/">drought is a wake-up call.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don&#039;t know what else could be.\u201d<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1687181893,"publishedAt":1687235427,"updatedAt":1687268616,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/green\/2023\/06\/20\/toxic-dust-and-earth-like-ash-lithuanias-extreme-weather","images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/68\/79\/06\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_621f5aee-ca9e-5d99-8601-77eabd59e24c-7687906.jpg","altText":"Dry, cracked ground.","caption":"Dry, cracked ground.","captionCredit":"Canva","captionUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"sourceUrl":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1175,"height":985}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"askew","title":"Joshua Askew","twitter":"@jweaskew"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":9403,"slug":"drought","urlSafeValue":"drought","title":"Drought","titleRaw":"Drought"},{"id":17856,"slug":"extreme-weather","urlSafeValue":"extreme-weather","title":"Extreme weather","titleRaw":"Extreme weather"},{"id":12493,"slug":"heatwave","urlSafeValue":"heatwave","title":"Heatwave","titleRaw":"Heatwave"},{"id":12170,"slug":"water-crisis","urlSafeValue":"water-crisis","title":"Water Crisis","titleRaw":"Water Crisis"},{"id":139,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health","titleRaw":"Health"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":2}],"related":[],"technicalTags":[{"path":"euronews.byenglishwebteam"},{"path":"euronews"}],"video":0,"videos":[],"externalPartners":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"isLiveCoverage":0,"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"freeField2":null,"type":"","program":{"id":"climate","urlSafeValue":"climate","title":"Climate","online":0,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/green\/climate\/climate"},"vertical":"green","verticals":[{"id":8,"slug":"green","urlSafeValue":"green","title":"Green"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":8,"slug":"green","urlSafeValue":"green","title":"Green"},"themes":[{"id":"climate","urlSafeValue":"climate","title":"Climate","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/green\/climate"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":34,"urlSafeValue":"climate","title":"Climate"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"isDfp":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":""},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":174,"urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","url":"\/news\/europe\/lithuania"},"town":[],"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','pos_ukrainecrisis','gs_science','progressivemedia','gs_science_environ','gs_science_environment','gs_science_weather','gs_busfin','climatechange','neg_saudiaramco','gt_negative','gs_business','gs_busfin_indus','neg_audi_list1','gs_business_agri','castrol_negative_uk','gt_negative_dislike'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"path":"\/green\/2023\/06\/20\/toxic-dust-and-earth-like-ash-lithuanias-extreme-weather","lastModified":1687268616},{"id":2267692,"cid":7588776,"versionId":8,"archive":0,"housenumber":"230508_NWSU_51551579","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Turkey's political rivalries play out in the Baltics as pivotal election looms","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Turkey's political rivalries play out in unexpected places","titleListing2":"\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\uddf7 With overseas voting taking place for the first time this year in the three Baltic States, Turkey's political tensions are playing out along old fault lines. ","leadin":"With overseas voting taking place for the first time this year in the three Baltic States, Turkey's political tensions are playing out along old fault lines. ","summary":"With overseas voting taking place for the first time this year in the three Baltic States, Turkey's political tensions are playing out along old fault lines. ","url":"turkeys-political-rivalries-play-out-in-unexpected-places","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"\u201cIn an ideal world, we would be able to trust the Turkish government,\u201d said Onur Can Varo\u011flu. \u201cBut we need to make sure the votes being counted in Lithuania end up in Ankara.\u201d \n\n\u201cAnything can happen if we don't watch.\u201d \n\nThe 27-year-old is part of a team of independent volunteers monitoring the vote of Turkish nationals in Lithuania, ahead of Turkey\u2019s nationwide elections on 14 May. \n\nHe has volunteered in nearly eight elections, but these in the small Baltic state are special as it is the first time ballots have been set up here. Before, they had to travel to the Turkish border to cast their vote. \n\nArrested during the Gezi Park protests of 2013, Varo\u011flu said it was vital to protect the integrity of Turkey's election, believing democratic freedoms had been eroded back home. \n\n\u201cWe are pretty protective of our vote,\u201d he told Euronews. \u201cIn Turkey, it is very difficult to protest and we saw how the Middle East went down after the Arab Spring movements.\u201d \n\n\u201cWe don't have hope for a big social movement. Our only chance for change is at the ballot box.\u201d \n\nTurks have been given the opportunity to vote in Lithuania for the first time as their number has risen significantly in recent years, with nearly 2,000 now in the country. \n\nBut as more Turkish people arrived in the Baltic nation, their political rivalries have come too. \n\nIn Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, there are reportedly separate mosques and cultural centres for supporters of Erdo\u011fan and those of the various opposition forces, such as Kurds and G\u00fclenists, a political group once allied with the Turkish president.\u00a0 \n\nAn anonymous source told Euronews the \"main reason\" why opponents of Erdogan do not go to certain government-sponsored mosques is that intelligence is gathered on visitors and reported to authorities in Turkey.\u00a0 \n\n\u201cThese political tensions actually play out more abroad because people are freer to express their opinions and do activism,\u201d says Varo\u011flu. \u201cIn Turkey, if you say or do anything too political you can end up in prison.\u201d \n\nErdo\u011fan has increasingly clamped down on dissent, bringing in controversial laws that criminalise \"insulting the president\" and \"disinformation\" on social media.\u00a0 \n\nThese political rivalries could be traced back to the family,\u00a0Varo\u011flu continued. \u201cIt doesn't matter if you come to Europe. If you are from a nationalist, Islamist background or a more pro-European immigrant one, you bring these values with you.\u201d \n\n\u201cTurkish politics is like football, you are born with your team and will support it no matter what.\u201d \n\nWhy are Turkish people in Lithuania? \n\nOver the past decade, Turkey\u2019s economy has hit the rocks, with millions of Turks pushed to the brink by skyrocketing inflation and a collapsing currency. \n\nIn September 2021, one US dollar was worth 8 Turkish lira. Today it is 19.5. \n\nThese economic headwinds have profoundly impacted which Turks emigrate and where they go. \n\n\u201cThe only people who stay in Turkey are those benefiting from the regime. If you are willing to sign up for their agenda and support the party, you will have a bright future. If you don't want to sacrifice your values to get a good job, then you must leave,\u201d said Varo\u011flu. \n\n\u201cIt's a given that this is the only way to have a bright future.\u201d \n\nTurkish immigrants in Lithuania tend to be younger, university educated and more supportive of the opposition, compared to the more established Turkish communities in other parts of mainland Europe. However, many still do back Erdo\u011fan. \n\n\u201cMost Turks in hotspots Germany went as guest workers after World War Two. There was no plan to integrate them, so they built their own communities and are stuck in a Turkish fantasy,\u201d said Varo\u011flu, suggesting this was one reason why diaspora there tended to support Erdo\u011fan. \n\n\u201cBut newer generations of immigrants in places like Lithuania are not like that. They're more open and European.\u201d \n\nIn the 2018 elections, 87% (2.63 million) of the Turkish voters registered abroad were residents of 19 EU Member States, the UK, Norway or Switzerland. Almost half of all expat voters in 2018 (47%) were living in Germany, which strongly supported\u00a0Erdo\u011fan in the last presidential election \n\nOne of these younger Turks who will play a pivotal role in the election is Merve Y\u0131lmaz. \n\nThe 20-something, who cast her vote at the Turkish embassy on Sunday, is studying a master\u2019s at one of Lithuania\u2019s most prestigious universities. \n\nFor Y\u0131lmaz, the vote couldn't be more important. Not only was it her first time voting, she has also only ever known Erdo\u011fan and his AKP party, who have ruled over Turkey since 2001. \n\nAnd she is not alone. Five million young people will vote in Turkish elections for the first time this time around, with their support seen as crucial for deciding who will win. \n\nWith his stripped-down social media videos, Erdo\u011fan\u2019s rival and leader of an opposition bloc, Kemal K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu, has attracted many young voters eager for change. But Erdo\u011fan retains strong support, especially among conservative religious voters. \n\n\u201cTo me, it is very clear who should be the next leader,\u201d said Y\u0131lmaz. \u201cHe [K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu] is the only person who we can trust to help lift our country from the horrible situation it is in now.\u201d \n\n\u201cWe want change for a better future.\u201d \n\n\u2018Dictators don't retire\u2019 \n\nErdo\u011fan is facing the biggest threat to his two-decade rule yet.\u00a0 \n\nHis support has taken a battering, with critics accusing him of steering the country towards authoritarianism, ruining the economy and mishandling the response to a devastating earthquake in February that killed more than 50,000 people. \n\nIn his defence, the 69-year-old has called the earthquake an act of god, maintaining it is impossible to prepare for such a catastrophic natural disaster. \n\nPolls predict a neck-and-neck race between Erdo\u011fan and his opponent, with the upcoming vote pitched as a seismic battle over Turkey\u2019s destiny. \n\nThere have been widespread fears Erdo\u011fan could not play fairly, while his supporters have threatened to reject the vote if he loses. \n\n\u201cWe have a lot of insecurity towards elections being rigged,\u201d said Varo\u011flu. \u201cWe had some bad experiences in the past, but we weren't as well organised back then.\u201d \n\nAfter a 2017 referendum on whether to overhaul Turkey\u2019s democracy and establish an executive presidency for Erdo\u011fan - which he won - the opposition cried foul after rules were changed at the last minute to allow 2.5 million unstamped ballots to be included in the vote. \n\nHowever, Varo\u011flu was more sure about what was at stake. \n\n\u201cEach candidate is promising two very different futures for Turkey. One of them is promising more restrictions on human rights, more wild nationalism and capitalism. The other is promising improved human rights and a return to European norms.\u201d \n\n\u201cIt's Turkey, anything can happen.\u201d \n\n","htmlText":"<p>\u201cIn an ideal world, we would be able to trust the Turkish government,\u201d said Onur Can Varo\u011flu. \u201cBut we need to make sure the votes being counted in Lithuania end up in Ankara.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything can happen if we don&#039;t watch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 27-year-old is part of a team of independent volunteers monitoring the vote of Turkish nationals in Lithuania, ahead of Turkey\u2019s nationwide elections on 14 May.<\/p>\n<p>He has volunteered in nearly eight elections, but these in the small Baltic state are special as it is the first time ballots have been set up here. Before, they had to travel to the Turkish border to cast their vote.<\/p>\n<p>Arrested during the Gezi Park protests of 2013, Varo\u011flu said it was vital to protect the integrity of Turkey&#039;s election, believing democratic freedoms had been eroded back home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are pretty protective of our vote,\u201d he told Euronews. \u201cIn Turkey, it is very difficult to protest and we saw how the Middle East went down after the Arab Spring movements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don&#039;t have hope for a big social movement. Our only chance for change is at the ballot box.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Turks have been given the opportunity to vote in Lithuania for the first time as their number has risen significantly in recent years, with nearly 2,000 now in the country.<\/p>\n<p>But as more Turkish people arrived in the Baltic nation, their political rivalries have come too.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.666015625\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//58//87//76//808x539_cmsv2_5ff4408f-10f8-523a-8465-7a5efdbcced0-7588776.jpg/" alt=\"ADEM ALTAN&#47;AFP or licensors\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/384x256_cmsv2_5ff4408f-10f8-523a-8465-7a5efdbcced0-7588776.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/640x426_cmsv2_5ff4408f-10f8-523a-8465-7a5efdbcced0-7588776.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/750x500_cmsv2_5ff4408f-10f8-523a-8465-7a5efdbcced0-7588776.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/828x551_cmsv2_5ff4408f-10f8-523a-8465-7a5efdbcced0-7588776.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/1080x719_cmsv2_5ff4408f-10f8-523a-8465-7a5efdbcced0-7588776.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/1200x799_cmsv2_5ff4408f-10f8-523a-8465-7a5efdbcced0-7588776.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/1920x1279_cmsv2_5ff4408f-10f8-523a-8465-7a5efdbcced0-7588776.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cheer during his election campaign rally in Ankara, on April 30, 2023.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">ADEM ALTAN&#47;AFP or licensors<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>In Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, there are reportedly separate mosques and cultural centres for supporters of Erdo\u011fan and those of the various opposition forces, such as Kurds and G\u00fclenists, a political group once allied with the Turkish president.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>An anonymous source told Euronews the \"main reason\" why opponents of Erdogan do not go to certain government-sponsored mosques is that intelligence is gathered on visitors and reported to authorities in Turkey.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese political tensions actually play out more abroad because people are freer to express their opinions and do activism,\u201d says Varo\u011flu. \u201cIn Turkey, if you say or do anything too political you can end up in prison.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Erdo\u011fan has increasingly clamped down on dissent, bringing in controversial laws that criminalise \"insulting the president\" and \"disinformation\" on social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These political rivalries could be traced back to the family,\u00a0Varo\u011flu continued. \u201cIt doesn&#039;t matter if you come to Europe. If you are from a nationalist, Islamist background or a more pro-European immigrant one, you bring these values with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTurkish politics is like football, you are born with your team and will support it no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"7549694,7561078,7463224\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2023//03//14//turkey-opinion-poll-tracker-erdogan-vs-kilicdaroglu/">Turkey opinion poll tracker: Erdo\u011fan vs K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2023//04//27//should-turks-living-in-europe-be-allowed-to-vote-in-mays-elections/">Should Turks living in Europe be allowed to vote in May's elections?<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2023//04//21//what-role-might-turkish-voters-in-europe-play-in-mays-presidential-election/">What role might Turkish voters in Europe play in May's presidential election?<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>Why are Turkish people in Lithuania?<\/h2><p>Over the past decade, Turkey\u2019s economy has hit the rocks, with millions of Turks pushed to the brink by skyrocketing inflation and a collapsing currency.<\/p>\n<p>In September 2021, one US dollar was worth 8 Turkish lira. Today it is 19.5.<\/p>\n<p>These economic headwinds have profoundly impacted which Turks emigrate and where they go.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only people who stay in Turkey are those benefiting from the regime. If you are willing to sign up for their agenda and support the party, you will have a bright future. If you don&#039;t want to sacrifice your values to get a good job, then you must leave,\u201d said Varo\u011flu.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#039;s a given that this is the only way to have a bright future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Turkish immigrants in Lithuania tend to be younger, university educated and more supportive of the opposition, compared to the more established Turkish communities in other parts of mainland Europe. However, many still do back Erdo\u011fan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost Turks in hotspots Germany went as guest workers after World War Two. There was no plan to integrate them, so they built their own communities and are stuck in a Turkish fantasy,\u201d said Varo\u011flu, suggesting this was one reason why diaspora there tended to support Erdo\u011fan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut newer generations of immigrants in places like Lithuania are not like that. They&#039;re more open and European.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the 2018 elections, 87% (2.63 million) of the Turkish voters registered abroad were residents of 19 EU Member States, the UK, Norway or Switzerland. Almost half of all expat voters in 2018 (47%) were living in Germany, which strongly supported\u00a0Erdo\u011fan in the last presidential election<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-flourish widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart u-min-height-375\" data-src=\"visualisation\/13431391?92060\"><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>One of these younger Turks who will play a pivotal role in the election is Merve Y\u0131lmaz.<\/p>\n<p>The 20-something, who cast her vote at the Turkish embassy on Sunday, is studying a master\u2019s at one of Lithuania\u2019s most prestigious universities.<\/p>\n<p>For Y\u0131lmaz, the vote couldn&#039;t be more important. Not only was it her first time voting, she has also only ever known Erdo\u011fan and his AKP party, who have ruled over Turkey since 2001.<\/p>\n<p>And she is not alone. Five million young people will vote in Turkish elections for the first time this time around, with their support seen as crucial for deciding who will win.<\/p>\n<p>With his stripped-down social media videos, Erdo\u011fan\u2019s rival and leader of an opposition bloc, Kemal K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu, has attracted many young voters eager for change. But Erdo\u011fan retains strong support, especially among conservative religious voters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo me, it is very clear who should be the next leader,\u201d said Y\u0131lmaz. \u201cHe [K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu] is the only person who we can trust to help lift our country from the horrible situation it is in now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want change for a better future.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-tweet widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio\u2014auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__tweet\" data-tweet-id=\"1590407352490283012\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>\u2018Dictators don't retire\u2019<\/h2><p>Erdo\u011fan is facing the biggest threat to his two-decade rule yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>His support has taken a battering, with critics accusing him of steering the country towards authoritarianism, ruining the economy and mishandling the response to a devastating earthquake in February that killed more than 50,000 people.<\/p>\n<p>In his defence, the 69-year-old has called the earthquake an act of god, maintaining it is impossible to prepare for such a catastrophic natural disaster.<\/p>\n<p>Polls predict a neck-and-neck race between Erdo\u011fan and his opponent, with the upcoming vote pitched as a seismic battle over Turkey\u2019s destiny.<\/p>\n<p>There have been widespread fears Erdo\u011fan could not play fairly, while his supporters have threatened to reject the vote if he loses.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.669921875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//58//87//76//808x542_cmsv2_bc057273-60be-5ea5-b7f1-95538f5dfac3-7588776.jpg/" alt=\"STRINGER&#47;AFP or licensors\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/384x257_cmsv2_bc057273-60be-5ea5-b7f1-95538f5dfac3-7588776.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/640x429_cmsv2_bc057273-60be-5ea5-b7f1-95538f5dfac3-7588776.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/750x502_cmsv2_bc057273-60be-5ea5-b7f1-95538f5dfac3-7588776.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/828x555_cmsv2_bc057273-60be-5ea5-b7f1-95538f5dfac3-7588776.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/1080x724_cmsv2_bc057273-60be-5ea5-b7f1-95538f5dfac3-7588776.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/1200x804_cmsv2_bc057273-60be-5ea5-b7f1-95538f5dfac3-7588776.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/1920x1286_cmsv2_bc057273-60be-5ea5-b7f1-95538f5dfac3-7588776.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Turkish riot police.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">STRINGER&#47;AFP or licensors<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe have a lot of insecurity towards elections being rigged,\u201d said Varo\u011flu. \u201cWe had some bad experiences in the past, but we weren&#039;t as well organised back then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After a 2017 referendum on whether to overhaul Turkey\u2019s democracy and establish an executive presidency for Erdo\u011fan - which he won - the opposition cried foul after rules were changed at the last minute to allow 2.5 million unstamped ballots to be included in the vote.<\/p>\n<p>However, Varo\u011flu was more sure about what was at stake.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEach candidate is promising two very different futures for Turkey. One of them is promising more restrictions on human rights, more wild nationalism and capitalism. The other is promising improved human rights and a return to European norms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#039;s Turkey, anything can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1683553363,"publishedAt":1683606649,"updatedAt":1683642577,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2023\/05\/09\/turkeys-political-rivalries-play-out-in-unexpected-places","images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_c34f7a88-236c-51ec-8726-7d510bbe39a6-7588776.jpg","altText":"Supporters of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu chant slogans as they gather in front of the municipal building in Istanbul, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022. ","caption":"Supporters of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu chant slogans as they gather in front of the municipal building in Istanbul, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022. ","captionCredit":"Khalil Hamra\/Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved.","captionUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"sourceUrl":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_bc057273-60be-5ea5-b7f1-95538f5dfac3-7588776.jpg","altText":"Turkish riot police.","caption":"Turkish riot police.","captionCredit":"STRINGER\/AFP or licensors","captionUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"sourceUrl":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":686},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/87\/76\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_5ff4408f-10f8-523a-8465-7a5efdbcced0-7588776.jpg","altText":"Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cheer during his election campaign rally in Ankara, on April 30, 2023.","caption":"Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cheer during his election campaign rally in Ankara, on April 30, 2023.","captionCredit":"ADEM ALTAN\/AFP or licensors","captionUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"sourceUrl":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":682}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"askew","title":"Joshua Askew","twitter":"@jweaskew"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":284,"slug":"turkey","urlSafeValue":"turkey","title":"Turkiye (Turkey)","titleRaw":"Turkiye (Turkey)"},{"id":15618,"slug":"turkiye-ekonomisi","urlSafeValue":"turkiye-ekonomisi","title":"Turkey's economy","titleRaw":"Turkey's economy"},{"id":12790,"slug":"kemal-kilicdaroglu","urlSafeValue":"kemal-kilicdaroglu","title":"Kemal K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu","titleRaw":"Kemal K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu"},{"id":8397,"slug":"recep-tayyip-erdogan","urlSafeValue":"recep-tayyip-erdogan","title":"Recep Tayyip Erdogan","titleRaw":"Recep Tayyip Erdogan"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":2},{"slug":"twitter","count":1},{"slug":"related","count":1},{"slug":"flourish","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2224844},{"id":2257216},{"id":2262596}],"technicalTags":[{"path":"euronews.byenglishwebteam"},{"path":"euronews"}],"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":{"quotation":null,"description":null,"author":null},"survey":[],"tweetId":null,"tweet2NdId":null,"contentType":null,"displayOverlay":0},"displayType":"default","video":0,"videos":[],"externalPartners":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"isLiveCoverage":0,"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"freeField2":null,"type":"","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"world news","online":1,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"isDfp":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":""},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":174,"urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","url":"\/news\/europe\/lithuania"},"town":[],"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','pos_ukrainecrisis','gs_politics','sm_politics','gs_politics_misc','gs_politics_issues_policy','neg_facebook_2021','gs_travel','gs_travel_locations','neg_facebook_q4','gs_politics_elections','neg_mobkoi_castrol','gs_travel_locations_europe','castrol_negative_uk','gt_negative','gs_busfin'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"path":"\/2023\/05\/09\/turkeys-political-rivalries-play-out-in-unexpected-places","lastModified":1683642577},{"id":2265476,"cid":7582440,"versionId":3,"archive":0,"housenumber":"230505_NWSU_51512522","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"The price of NATO: Sky-high summit costs raise questions in Lithuania","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Sky-high NATO summit costs raise questions in Lithuania","titleListing2":"\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddf9 The price of NATO: Sky-high summit costs raise questions in Lithuania","leadin":"Authorities in the Baltic country insist procurement for the upcoming summit was transparent, but costs have spiralled with Biden and Zelenskyy expected to attend.","summary":"Authorities in the Baltic country insist procurement for the upcoming summit was transparent, but costs have spiralled with Biden and Zelenskyy expected to attend.","url":"the-price-of-nato-sky-high-summit-costs-raise-questions-for-lithuanias-government","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The cost of hosting an upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania are causing concern.\u00a0 \n\nRepresentatives from the 31-state military alliance will gather in the capital Vilnius in July, with US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy both expected to attend. \n\nBut the amount Lithuanian authorities are spending on the major meeting has prompted a rash of newspaper headlines as journalists probe the costs involved, forcing the government to hit back against allegations procurement lacks transparency. \n\nLast week, public broadcaster LRT reported Lithuania's Foreign Ministry, which is organising the talks, will spend \u20ac6.48 million renting more than 500 - mostly brand new - cars.\u00a0 \n\nThe luxury vehicles will be bought from a local company that's had its financing from the bank doubled to \u20ac20 million, just to afford to pay for the NATO summit cars and minibuses. \n\nMeanwhile, Lithuanian journalist Andrius Tapinas questioned the price of services purchased for the meeting in April, detailing multi-million euro bills for video conferencing and lighting equipment. \n\nAll costs will be fronted by Lithuania, where an economic recession and skyrocketing food prices have helped push one in five into poverty.\u00a0 \n\nObservers have questioned whether purchases by authorities were transparent, with some contracts being awarded through undisclosed negotiations, according to the Baltic News Service media outlet.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\nOfficials say they were, claiming prices were influenced by the urgency of the process. \n\nThe conference has long been in the offing, with the Foreign Ministry estimating last July the summit would cost \u20ac30 million.\u00a0 \n\nNATO summits inevitably require large sums of money for security, transportation and other hosting costs, especially when high-profile guests are in attendance.\u00a0 \n\nVilnius locals will face a number of disruptions, with roadblocks, cancelled flights and cuts to public transport.\u00a0 \n\nOne company Up Records, which will rent sound equipment for \u20ac553,000, had an annual income of \u20ac120,000 and made a loss of \u20ac50,000 in 2021,\"\u00a0Tapinas wrote on Facebook.\u00a0 \n\nVideoconferencing equipment will be rented for \u20ac1.6 million by Screen Service - double its annual income for the deal; while lighting will be supplied by Muzikos Ekspresas for \u20ac1.5 million. This is also twice its annual income, with the company making a loss of \u20ac250,000 last year, he added. \n\nTelia, a telecoms company, was awarded a contract worth \u20ac2.70 million last year, through \"undisclosed negotiations\", LRT reported.\u00a0 \n\nIn April, Lithuania's\u00a0Public Procurement Service said it was monitoring the situation and carrying out an assessment of what had been brought.\u00a0 \n\nIt noted \"the risk of overpaying is higher\" depending on the contract's timeframe, number of suppliers and buyer's negotiation skills, but maintained transparent conditions had been met.\u00a0 \n\nSpeaking in July, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said the country was capable of organising and hosting the event, but unstable geopolitical and economic conditions could pose challenges. \n\nThen the conference was expected for June, but it has since been pushed back.\u00a0 \n\nNeither the Lithuanian government or NATO responded to requests for comment from Euronews. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>The cost of hosting an upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania are causing concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Representatives from the 31-state military alliance will gather in the capital Vilnius in July, with US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy both expected to attend.<\/p>\n<p>But the amount Lithuanian authorities are spending on the major meeting has prompted a rash of newspaper headlines as journalists probe the costs involved, forcing the government to hit back against allegations procurement lacks transparency.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, public broadcaster LRT <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.lrt.lt//en//news-in-english//19//1977071//lithuania-to-spend-eur6-5m-on-renting-cars-for-vilnius-nato-summit/">reported Lithuania&#039;s Foreign Ministry, which is organising the talks, will spend \u20ac6.48 million renting more than 500 - mostly brand new - cars.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The luxury vehicles will be bought from a local company that&#039;s had its financing from the bank doubled to \u20ac20 million, just to afford to pay for the NATO summit cars and minibuses.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Lithuanian journalist Andrius Tapinas <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.facebook.com//photo.php?fbid=10227588112561652&amp;set=a.1301596153243&amp;type=3\%22>questioned<\/strong><\/a> the price of services purchased for the meeting in April, detailing multi-million euro bills for video conferencing and lighting equipment.<\/p>\n<p>All costs will be fronted by Lithuania, where an economic recession and skyrocketing food prices have helped push one in five into poverty.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Observers have questioned whether purchases by authorities were transparent, with some contracts being awarded through undisclosed negotiations, according to the Baltic News Service media outlet.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Officials say they were, claiming prices were influenced by the urgency of the process.<\/p>\n<p>The conference has long been in the offing, with the Foreign Ministry estimating last July the summit would cost \u20ac30 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-tweet widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio\u2014auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__tweet\" data-tweet-id=\"1651149223281164289\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>NATO summits inevitably require large sums of money for security, transportation and other hosting costs, especially when high-profile guests are in attendance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Vilnius locals will face a number of disruptions, with roadblocks, cancelled flights and cuts to public transport.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One company Up Records, which will rent sound equipment for \u20ac553,000, had an annual income of \u20ac120,000 and made a loss of \u20ac50,000 in 2021,\"\u00a0Tapinas wrote on Facebook.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Videoconferencing equipment will be rented for \u20ac1.6 million by Screen Service - double its annual income for the deal; while lighting will be supplied by Muzikos Ekspresas for \u20ac1.5 million. This is also twice its annual income, with the company making a loss of \u20ac250,000 last year, he added.<\/p>\n<p>Telia, a telecoms company, was awarded a contract worth \u20ac2.70 million last year, through \"undisclosed negotiations\", LRT reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In April, Lithuania&#039;s\u00a0Public Procurement Service said it was monitoring the situation and carrying out an assessment of what had been brought.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It noted \"the risk of overpaying is higher\" depending on the contract&#039;s timeframe, number of suppliers and buyer&#039;s negotiation skills, but maintained transparent conditions had been met.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Speaking in July, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said the country was capable of organising and hosting the event, but unstable geopolitical and economic conditions could pose challenges.<\/p>\n<p>Then the conference was expected for June, but it has since been pushed back.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Neither the Lithuanian government or NATO responded to requests for comment from Euronews.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1683272862,"publishedAt":1683522024,"updatedAt":1683534790,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2023\/05\/08\/the-price-of-nato-sky-high-summit-costs-raise-questions-for-lithuanias-government","images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/58\/24\/40\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_f9726f18-4aae-5956-b68f-f72fb51c4a1f-7582440.jpg","altText":"NATO flag","caption":"NATO flag","captionCredit":"Canva Stock Images","captionUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"sourceUrl":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1080,"height":900}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"askew","title":"Joshua Askew","twitter":"@jweaskew"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":205,"slug":"nato","urlSafeValue":"nato","title":"NATO","titleRaw":"NATO"},{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":19358,"slug":"vilnius","urlSafeValue":"vilnius","title":"vilnius","titleRaw":"vilnius"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"twitter","count":1}],"related":[],"technicalTags":[{"path":"euronews.byenglishwebteam"},{"path":"euronews"}],"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":{"quotation":null,"description":null,"author":null},"survey":[],"tweetId":null,"tweet2NdId":null,"contentType":null,"displayOverlay":0},"displayType":"default","video":0,"videos":[],"externalPartners":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"isLiveCoverage":0,"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"freeField2":null,"type":"","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"world news","online":1,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"isDfp":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":""},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":174,"urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","url":"\/news\/europe\/lithuania"},"town":[],"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','gs_busfin','gs_busfin_indus','shadow9hu7_pos_ukrainecrisis','sm_politics','gs_politics','gs_auto','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','gs_busfin_indus_media','gs_busfin_business','neg_facebook_2021','neg_facebook_q4','neg_ukraine_russia_war','shadow9hu7_pos_ukraine-russia','gt_positive'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"path":"\/2023\/05\/08\/the-price-of-nato-sky-high-summit-costs-raise-questions-for-lithuanias-government","lastModified":1683534790},{"id":2257414,"cid":7558472,"versionId":5,"archive":0,"housenumber":"230425_NWSU_51375127","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"'Far-right extremists' could police Lithuanian border under new law, warn activists","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"'Far-right extremists' could police Lithuanian border under new law","titleListing2":"Far-right extremists allowed to patrol Lithuanian border under new law, warn activists","leadin":"New legislation will allow volunteers to use force and help make arrests on Lithuania's border, sparking fears among activists. ","summary":"New legislation will allow volunteers to use force and help make arrests on Lithuania's border, sparking fears among activists. ","url":"far-right-extremists-could-police-lithuanian-border-under-new-law-warn-activists","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Activists have warned a new law passed on Tuesday could allow \u201cviolent far-right groups\u201d to police Lithuania\u2019s border. \n\nDue to come into force in May, the\u00a0 Border and Protection Law \u00a0will\u00a0enable volunteers to work alongside the\u00a0 State Border Guard Service , permitting them to use force and help detain people in certain circumstances.\u00a0 \n\nA spokesperson from the NGO Sienos Grup\u0117 (Border Group) told Euronews there are fears it will allow \"far-right extremists\" to use violence and commit human rights abuses against migrants on the Belarussian frontier.\u00a0 \n\n\"Why would someone want to catch foreigners at the border,\" they said. \"If the border police feel understaffed they should hire more. Instead... they are asking people who are motivated enough to come and work for free.\"\u00a0 \n\nVolunteers will receive state funds and be issued with\u00a0\"certificates, identification badges and vests\" under the legislation drafted by the Interior Ministry.\u00a0 \n\nSince 2021, Lithuanian authorities have tried to stop undocumented people from entering the country in what has been called Europe's forgotten migration crisis .\u00a0 \n\nTens of thousands of migrants have been expelled in an illegal practice known as pushbacks, with\u00a0Sienos Grup\u0117 claiming the border area - a dank, swampy forest buffeted by inhospitable weather - is littered with bodies .\u00a0 \n\nAt least three migrants are known to have lost their legs to frostbite \u00a0while trying to cross from Belarus. \n\nIn a statement sent to Euronews, the Interior Ministry said it had proposed these legal \"improvements\" \"in order to defend national security\" and reduce \"pull factors\" allegedly attracting migrants.\u00a0 \n\n\"The Ministry considers these measures as defence and currently sees no alternatives,\" it added. \n\nUnder the law passed on Tuesday, volunteers will have the legal right to \"use mental or physical coercion\", \"stop vehicles\", \"perform personal examinations and inspections\", \"enter residential and non-residential premises\" and help arrest suspects.\u00a0 \n\nIt specifies they must obey the law and \"respect human dignity\", plus provide assistance \"to foreigners who are not allowed the enter\" Lithuania.\u00a0 \n\n\"Concerns raised by the humanitarian groups... are unfounded,\" said the Ministry of Interior. \"The Institute of SBGS [State Border Guard Service] supporters aim to provide help for officers at all times, as well as in case of an influx of migrants, rather than cause any harm.\" \n\n\"Only persons of impeccable reputation will be able to become\u00a0SBGS supporters,\" it added.\u00a0 \n\nThough the legislation still needs to be signed off by the Lithuanian President, Sienos Grup\u0117 spokesperson claimed it could let extremists from around Europe volunteer, adding the Interior Ministry had not ruled out this prospect.\u00a0 \n\nFar-right vigilantism has grown across Europe in recent years, with an increasing number of often armed groups patrolling border regions. They have been accused of aggravating violence and tensions, targetting migrants, NGOs and journalists.\u00a0 \n\nThe draft bill states EU citizens must be permanent residents of Lithuania, with a registered address inside the country, before they can volunteer.\u00a0 \n\nConvicted criminals or those who have been dismissed from military service or as civil servants, lawyers or bailiffs are forbidden from signing up.\u00a0 \n\n\"Supporters would not have the right to use firearms or explosives, the use of which could cause the most serious consequences for a person's life or health,\" the Interior Ministry told Euronews.\u00a0 \n\n'Double standards' \n\nAuthorities in Lithuania - and Brussels - blame Belarus for the crisis, claiming Minsk is sending migrants to the border in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the bloc in 2020.\u00a0 \n\nIn 2021, Lithuania declared a state of emergency on its eastern frontier and created a five-kilometre zone that shut out observers.\u00a0 \n\nThe right to claim asylum was also controversially temporarily suspended, allowing authorities to turn away and expel an estimated 20,000 people without assessing whether they need international protection.\u00a0 \n\nLithuania's Interior Ministry claims this was necessary to safeguard national security, though it has been slammed as inhumane and illegal under international law.\u00a0 \n\nSpeaking to Euronews, Sienos Grup\u0117 spokesperson called out what they called the hypocrisy of authorities who were allowing possible extremists in the border zone, while shutting out \"human rights defenders\".\u00a0\u00a0 \n\nTuesday's law also legalised the practice of pushbacks, with Amnesty International saying last week it would \"green-light torture\".\u00a0 \n\nLithuanian border guards have been accused of violently pushing migrants back into Belarus and denying them assistance in perilous conditions. Officials deny this.\u00a0 \n\nPushbacks are illegal under the Geneva Convention and the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which Lithuania is bound by.\u00a0 \n\n\"Since the beginning of the irregular migration crisis, the aim has been to strike a balance between national security and human rights,\" said the Interior Ministry.\u00a0 \n\nIt claimed it had proposed new laws in parallel to Tuesday's legislation that will allow people to submit asylum applications at \"border control posts and transit zones\".\u00a0 \n\nHowever, doubts remain among activists.\u00a0 \n\n\"This law will not stop migration,\" said the\u00a0Sienos Grup\u0117 spokesperson. \"People will just have to spend more time in the forest or make more difficult passages. All I foresee is that there will be more injures and deaths on the border\". \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Activists have warned a new law passed on Tuesday could allow \u201cviolent far-right groups\u201d to police Lithuania\u2019s border.<\/p>\n<p>Due to come into force in May, the\u00a0<a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////e-seimas.lrs.lt//portal//legalAct//lt//TAP//69c45250dd1c11eda305cb3bdf2af4d8/">Border and Protection Law<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0will\u00a0enable volunteers to work alongside the\u00a0<a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////twitter.com//ltborderguards/">State Border Guard Service<\/strong><\/a>, permitting them to use force and help detain people in certain circumstances.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson from the NGO <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.facebook.com//sienosgrupe///">Sienos Grup\u0117<\/strong><\/a> (Border Group) told Euronews there are fears it will allow \"far-right extremists\" to use violence and commit human rights abuses against migrants on the Belarussian frontier.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"Why would someone want to catch foreigners at the border,\" they said. \"If the border police feel understaffed they should hire more. Instead... they are asking people who are motivated enough to come and work for free.\"\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Volunteers will receive state funds and be issued with\u00a0\"certificates, identification badges and vests\" under the legislation drafted by the Interior Ministry.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Since 2021, Lithuanian authorities have tried to stop undocumented people from entering the country in what has been called <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//12//22//migrants-lose-legs-to-frostbite-as-winter-complicates-border-crisis/">Europe&#039;s forgotten migration crisis<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Tens of thousands of migrants have been expelled in an illegal practice known as pushbacks, with\u00a0Sienos Grup\u0117 claiming the border area - a dank, swampy forest buffeted by inhospitable weather - is <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2023//01//25//there-are-bodies-in-the-forest-missing-migrants-worry-activists-on-lithuania-belarus-borde/">littered with bodies<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At least three migrants are known to have <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//12//10//third-migrant-loses-leg-to-frostbite-at-lithuania-belarus-border-reports/">lost their legs to frostbite<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0while trying to cross from Belarus.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement sent to Euronews, the Interior Ministry said it had proposed these legal \"improvements\" \"in order to defend national security\" and reduce \"pull factors\" allegedly attracting migrants.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"The Ministry considers these measures as defence and currently sees no alternatives,\" it added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-tweet widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio\u2014auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__tweet\" data-tweet-id=\"1606315273233076225\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Under the law passed on Tuesday, volunteers will have the legal right to \"use mental or physical coercion\", \"stop vehicles\", \"perform personal examinations and inspections\", \"enter residential and non-residential premises\" and help arrest suspects.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It specifies they must obey the law and \"respect human dignity\", plus provide assistance \"to foreigners who are not allowed the enter\" Lithuania.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"Concerns raised by the humanitarian groups... are unfounded,\" said the Ministry of Interior. \"The Institute of SBGS [State Border Guard Service] supporters aim to provide help for officers at all times, as well as in case of an influx of migrants, rather than cause any harm.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"Only persons of impeccable reputation will be able to become\u00a0SBGS supporters,\" it added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Though the legislation still needs to be signed off by the Lithuanian President, Sienos Grup\u0117 spokesperson claimed it could let extremists from around Europe volunteer, adding the Interior Ministry had not ruled out this prospect.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Far-right vigilantism has grown across Europe in recent years, with an increasing number of often armed groups patrolling border regions. They have been accused of aggravating violence and tensions, targetting migrants, NGOs and journalists.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The draft bill states EU citizens must be permanent residents of Lithuania, with a registered address inside the country, before they can volunteer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Convicted criminals or those who have been dismissed from military service or as civil servants, lawyers or bailiffs are forbidden from signing up.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"Supporters would not have the right to use firearms or explosives, the use of which could cause the most serious consequences for a person&#039;s life or health,\" the Interior Ministry told Euronews.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>'Double standards'<\/h2><p>Authorities in Lithuania - and Brussels - blame Belarus for the crisis, claiming Minsk is sending migrants to the border in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the bloc in 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, Lithuania declared a state of emergency on its eastern frontier and created a five-kilometre zone that shut out observers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The right to claim asylum was also controversially temporarily suspended, allowing authorities to turn away and expel an estimated 20,000 people without assessing whether they need international protection.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania&#039;s Interior Ministry claims this was necessary to safeguard national security, though it has been slammed as inhumane and illegal under international law.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to Euronews, Sienos Grup\u0117 spokesperson called out what they called the hypocrisy of authorities who were allowing possible extremists in the border zone, while shutting out \"human rights defenders\".\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-tweet widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio\u2014auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__tweet\" data-tweet-id=\"1618640405934882819\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Tuesday&#039;s law also legalised the practice of pushbacks, with Amnesty International saying last week it would \"green-light torture\".\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lithuanian border guards have been accused of violently pushing migrants back into Belarus and denying them assistance in perilous conditions. Officials deny this.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Pushbacks are illegal under the Geneva Convention and the EU&#039;s Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which Lithuania is bound by.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"Since the beginning of the irregular migration crisis, the aim has been to strike a balance between national security and human rights,\" said the Interior Ministry.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It claimed it had proposed new laws in parallel to Tuesday&#039;s legislation that will allow people to submit asylum applications at \"border control posts and transit zones\".\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, doubts remain among activists.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"This law will not stop migration,\" said the\u00a0Sienos Grup\u0117 spokesperson. \"People will just have to spend more time in the forest or make more difficult passages. All I foresee is that there will be more injures and deaths on the border\".<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1682417030,"publishedAt":1682483435,"updatedAt":1682487192,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2023\/04\/26\/far-right-extremists-could-police-lithuanian-border-under-new-law-warn-activists","images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/55\/84\/72\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_e8085137-4466-59aa-9b76-dac9c780010d-7558472.jpg","altText":"Anti-LGBT activists are seen in Vilnius 2010. ","caption":"Anti-LGBT activists are seen in Vilnius 2010. 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Q&A: Lithuania led the struggle for freedom from Moscow's yoke, expert recalls","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"View Q&A: Lithuania led the way in struggle for freedom from Moscow","titleListing2":"View Q&A: Today, countries like the Baltic states, Ukraine, and Poland threaten the likes of Putin because their progress makes people realise that there's an alternative to the kleptocratic regime in Moscow, Saul Anuzis told Euronews.","leadin":"Today, countries like the Baltic states, Ukraine, and Poland threaten the likes of Putin because their progress makes people realise that there's an alternative to the kleptocratic regime in Moscow, Saul Anuzis told Euronews.","summary":"Today, countries like the Baltic states, Ukraine, and Poland threaten the likes of Putin because their progress makes people realise that there's an alternative to the kleptocratic regime in Moscow, Saul Anuzis told Euronews.","keySentence":null,"url":"view-qa-lithuania-led-the-struggle-for-freedom-from-moscows-yoke-expert-recalls","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Amidst Russia's continued full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many might have forgotten that the small Baltic country of Lithuania was the first to pay in blood for its independence from Moscow more than three decades ago. \n\nIn fact, Lithuania was the first former republic to break away from the Soviet Union, proclaiming the restoration of its pre-World War II independence in March 1990 and sparking a tumultuous period culminating in the January Events of 1991. \n\nFollowing threats of violence by Soviet Union President\u00a0Mikhail Gorbachev, a three-day Soviet Army invasion ended with 14 Lithuanian civilians dead and some 140 injured.\u00a0 \n\nYet they did not relent, and their resistance sparked a chain reaction across the Soviet bloc that saw the rest of the Baltics, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, as well as states in the Caucasus and Central Asia, follow suit until the USSR's final demise in late December 1991. \n\nSince then, Lithuania has grown into a full-fledged democracy, becoming a member of the EU and NATO in the process.\u00a0 \n\nTogether with the other Baltic states, it is now one of the most fervent supporters of Ukraine as it continues to endure a bloody war and the Kremlin's aggression. \n\nEuronews View spoke to Saulius Saul Anuzis, a Lithuanian-American political expert and former Michigan Republican Party chairman, and a witness to\u00a0the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s about what it took for the former Soviet states to distance themselves from Moscow and what can be learnt from their experience as Russia's war against Ukraine rages on. \n\nEuronews View: When did you first go to Lithuania, and what was the situation in the then-Soviet state like at the time? \n\nSaul Anuzis:\u00a0My parents immigrated from Lithuania. My sister was born there. My other sister was born in Germany during the war, and then my brother and I were born here in the US, but we were basically raised in a kind of immigrant neighbourhood in metro Detroit. \n\nI didn't learn to speak English until I was seven years old. Our neighbours were Lithuanian. We went to Lithuanian church, Lithuanian preschool and all that kind of stuff. So, we were culturally pretty engaged in Lithuanian activities, and that's really how I got involved in politics. \n\nMy first trip would have been in '89. I went 32 times between 1989 and 1991. Obviously, it was at the end of the Soviet era, and it was still under Soviet control.\u00a0 \n\nThe last General Secretary of the Communist Party was still in charge, the Lithuanian Communist Party was still the dominant party, and Sajudis had just started kind of brewing.\u00a0 \n\nIt was a very tenuous time for people there. They were all afraid, not sure exactly what was going to happen, how things were gonna work. \n\nThis was a unique situation. But it was kind of coming to a boiling point. People wanted to see change. And I think they just had a couple of good leaders that combined with others around the old Soviet bloc that kind of engaged and helped start the downfall of the Soviet Union. \n\nEuronews View: How did this group of people come together? What was the profile of the people who were leading this change, and what is it that motivated them at the time? \n\nSaul Anuzis: The guy who gave the first speech was a guy named Arvydas Juozaitis, the Olympic swimmer who won a bronze medal for the Soviets in the breaststroke. They brought him to the border expecting to get him out because he started this whole thing calling for Lithuania's Independence. \n\nJuozaitis, Vytautas Landsbergis\u00a0\u2014 he became the first president of Lithuania\u00a0\u2014 and Romualdas Ozolas, the three of them were kind of the start of S\u0105j\u016bdis, or at least the leaders of S\u0105j\u016bdis, who organised a lot of the initial activities.\u00a0 \n\nAnd there were a couple of Lithuanian Americans who had gone over there to help, and obviously, the immigrant community of Lithuanians all over the world were engaged in helping in any way they could, which was primarily through getting information out. \n\nAt the time, I was the chief of staff to the Senate majority leader in Michigan, and we were politically engaged. We try to help them in any way we could with various introductions and conferences.\u00a0 \n\nActually, the first two governments that were there came over and met at Hillsdale College to hear what Western values are and how you run a democracy. \n\nI gave a speech at the medical society there, and one of the doctors asked you what the most important thing they could do, and I said it was figuring out how to kind of cleanse that Soviet mindset over a freedom-based mindset where you were no longer stealing from the government, stealing from Moscow. \n\nThat was now taking from your own people. Not only did they have to do the logistical stuff of figuring out how to run their own country.\u00a0 \n\nThey had to change the way they thought where the government now was of the people, and they were trying to create a new free independent country. And I think that was just as much of a challenge as anything else. \n\nEuronews View: Lithuania is a small country, especially compared to the rest of the Soviet Union and Russia. How do you feel about the fact that the people outside of Lithuania and even in its immediate neighbourhood have somewhat forgotten how much courage and energy it took for Lithuania and the rest of the three Baltic states to be where they are today? \n\nSaul Anuzis: It's just part of history, and people just moved on. I mean, there are other crises at hand.\u00a0 \n\nBut I do think that a lot of people, especially those who are involved in the kind of captive nations mindset of understanding those who are trying to break away from the Soviet bloc, know that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia still led the way. They were the early ones who walked out on the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. \n\nYou had the Baltic Way, when the Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians stood up and down that highway and held hands to show the citizens' interest in having their own independence. It became a mass movement. \n\nYou're seeing a different scenario happening in Ukraine, but at the same time, you've got countries like Poland who are very supportive and reacting because they also lived under the yoke of the Soviets dominating their country, and they don't want to see that happen again.\u00a0 \n\nI think those are some of the reasons you see the Baltics being supportive of Ukraine, you see Poland being supportive of Ukraine and others.\u00a0 \n\nBecause they've experienced both living under Soviet rule and influence and the benefits and values of freedom and the Eastern European countries, especially those former Soviet satellite states, have had a very positive impact both on NATO and the world as a whole. \n\nEuronews View: Do you think that the rest of Europe, and the West in particular, have listened to Lithuanians enough when they, together with others, warned us of Moscow\u2019s malign intentions? \n\nSaul Anuzis: I would say people listened to them; I just don't know necessarily how they reacted. I mean, there was a tremendous amount of interest in finding out how things worked.\u00a0 \n\nVery quickly, NATO, as well as other intelligence services, were in Lithuania and the Baltics, learning from their experiences of how the process was set up, what people did, and what people didn't do.\u00a0 \n\nObviously, early on, there were a lot of people in leadership that were part of the Communist Party part of the security infrastructure of the Soviets. And so there was some very valuable intelligence and information that was shared with regards to process, tactics, strategy and what they did in Moscow.\u00a0 \n\nI think that helped the West prepare for the continuing barrage of propaganda \u2014 how they manipulated governments or tried to manipulate governments and how they engaged in different types of activities. \n\nThere were institutes and foundations that were set up to share what happened during the Soviet occupation, and all that stuff was very valuable because it was like the first-hand experience of all the things that we suspected were going on in the Soviet Union and didn't quite have all the best information and necessarily the full information of it. \n\nAlso, the KGB archives opened up. It was a very interesting time because a lot of people pulled all kinds of documents and records.\u00a0 \n\nThey knew who was talking to who and what they were talking about. I used to go and stay at the hotel down at Vilnius Park, and later they showed us the listening rooms where every room had recording devices.\u00a0 \n\nThey found the office where somebody sat there and reported to the intelligence service. You had somebody sitting on every floor watching who walked in the rooms and kept track of who people were and all that kind of stuff. \n\nIt was very real and something that I think most people in the West had no idea how restrictive and how invasive it was in people\u2019s lives. \n\nEuronews View: As you said, Lithuania, the Baltics and other neighbouring countries are extremely supportive of Ukraine, another country that liberated itself of the Soviet Union. Is there something from your experience in Lithuania and in general that could maybe help shed more light on the interest Vladimir Putin and his associates have in waging a war against Ukraine? \n\nSaul Anuzis: One of the big lessons is the fact that states like the Baltics, Ukraine, and Poland threaten the Russian system.\u00a0 \n\nBecause people realise that there's an alternative to having a strong dictator leader and a system that basically \u201ctakes care of you\u201d because you can't somehow take care of yourself. There's an alternative that\u2019s the danger for the Russians. \n\nJust walk through the Soviet republics and take a look at these people experiencing free markets, free minds, education, western values coming in, westerners coming in, finding out they're not all enemies. \n\nThey're not all enemies of the state. They're not trying to take you over from a different way, but they're actually trying to institute a degree of democracy and freedom and freedom of choice. \n\nThat then translates and kind of spreads into Russia, which is a big danger to their ruling system. The oligarchs and their clique of intelligence services and former party members still run much of the infrastructure throughout Russia.\u00a0 \n\nIt's a cleptocracy that operates knowingly, acceptingly, even amongst the people. There's almost an acceptance of the way Russia works, and what's going to change that is the experiences of Ukraine, Poland, and other former Soviet bloc states that have moved forward and created systems of education and universities and freedom of the press.\u00a0 \n\nAnd they're not all perfect, and they're not all there yet.\u00a0 \n\nBut they're all working towards that, and eventually, as democracy takes place, as people engage in this, they realise that that is a better system than what the Soviets had and what the Russians currently use. I think that's the danger.","htmlText":"<p>Amidst Russia&#039;s continued full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many might have forgotten that the small Baltic country of Lithuania was the first to pay in blood for its independence from Moscow more than three decades ago.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Lithuania was the first former republic to break away from the Soviet Union, proclaiming the restoration of its pre-World War II independence in March 1990 and sparking a tumultuous period culminating in the January Events of 1991.<\/p>\n<p>Following threats of violence by Soviet Union President\u00a0Mikhail Gorbachev, a three-day Soviet Army invasion ended with 14 Lithuanian civilians dead and some 140 injured.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Yet they did not relent, and their resistance sparked a chain reaction across the Soviet bloc that saw the rest of the Baltics, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, as well as states in the Caucasus and Central Asia, follow suit until the USSR&#039;s final demise in late December 1991.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, Lithuania has grown into a full-fledged democracy, becoming a member of the EU and NATO in the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Together with the other Baltic states, it is now one of the most fervent supporters of Ukraine as it continues to endure a bloody war and the Kremlin&#039;s aggression.<\/p>\n<p>Euronews View spoke to Saulius Saul Anuzis, a Lithuanian-American political expert and former Michigan Republican Party chairman, and a witness to\u00a0the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s about what it took for the former Soviet states to distance themselves from Moscow and what can be learnt from their experience as Russia&#039;s war against Ukraine rages on.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Euronews View: When did you first go to Lithuania, and what was the situation in the then-Soviet state like at the time?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Saul Anuzis:\u00a0My parents immigrated from Lithuania. My sister was born there. My other sister was born in Germany during the war, and then my brother and I were born here in the US, but we were basically raised in a kind of immigrant neighbourhood in metro Detroit.<\/p>\n<p>I didn&#039;t learn to speak English until I was seven years old. Our neighbours were Lithuanian. We went to Lithuanian church, Lithuanian preschool and all that kind of stuff. So, we were culturally pretty engaged in Lithuanian activities, and that&#039;s really how I got involved in politics.<\/p>\n<p>My first trip would have been in &#039;89. I went 32 times between 1989 and 1991. Obviously, it was at the end of the Soviet era, and it was still under Soviet control.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.666015625\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//53//49//40//808x539_cmsv2_a2cf2f61-ac9b-5172-8254-5cbd79512636-7534940.jpg/" alt=\"Liu Heung Shing&#47;AP1991\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/384x256_cmsv2_a2cf2f61-ac9b-5172-8254-5cbd79512636-7534940.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/640x426_cmsv2_a2cf2f61-ac9b-5172-8254-5cbd79512636-7534940.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/750x500_cmsv2_a2cf2f61-ac9b-5172-8254-5cbd79512636-7534940.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/828x551_cmsv2_a2cf2f61-ac9b-5172-8254-5cbd79512636-7534940.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1080x719_cmsv2_a2cf2f61-ac9b-5172-8254-5cbd79512636-7534940.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1200x799_cmsv2_a2cf2f61-ac9b-5172-8254-5cbd79512636-7534940.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1920x1279_cmsv2_a2cf2f61-ac9b-5172-8254-5cbd79512636-7534940.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Anti-Soviet political graffiti filled the entire wall built with concrete slabs is erected in Vilnius, 17 January 1991<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Liu Heung Shing&#47;AP1991<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The last General Secretary of the Communist Party was still in charge, the Lithuanian Communist Party was still the dominant party, and Sajudis had just started kind of brewing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It was a very tenuous time for people there. They were all afraid, not sure exactly what was going to happen, how things were gonna work.<\/p>\n<p>This was a unique situation. But it was kind of coming to a boiling point. People wanted to see change. And I think they just had a couple of good leaders that combined with others around the old Soviet bloc that kind of engaged and helped start the downfall of the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Euronews View: How did this group of people come together? What was the profile of the people who were leading this change, and what is it that motivated them at the time?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Saul Anuzis: The guy who gave the first speech was a guy named Arvydas Juozaitis, the Olympic swimmer who won a bronze medal for the Soviets in the breaststroke. They brought him to the border expecting to get him out because he started this whole thing calling for Lithuania&#039;s Independence.<\/p>\n<p>Juozaitis, Vytautas Landsbergis\u00a0\u2014 he became the first president of Lithuania\u00a0\u2014 and Romualdas Ozolas, the three of them were kind of the start of S\u0105j\u016bdis, or at least the leaders of S\u0105j\u016bdis, who organised a lot of the initial activities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And there were a couple of Lithuanian Americans who had gone over there to help, and obviously, the immigrant community of Lithuanians all over the world were engaged in helping in any way they could, which was primarily through getting information out.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"1.1557562076749435\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//53//49//40//808x929_cmsv2_11581ab2-e92e-5a48-a1b8-c70426886137-7534940.jpg/" alt=\"Keplicz&#47;AP1990\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/384x444_cmsv2_11581ab2-e92e-5a48-a1b8-c70426886137-7534940.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/640x740_cmsv2_11581ab2-e92e-5a48-a1b8-c70426886137-7534940.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/750x867_cmsv2_11581ab2-e92e-5a48-a1b8-c70426886137-7534940.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/828x957_cmsv2_11581ab2-e92e-5a48-a1b8-c70426886137-7534940.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1080x1248_cmsv2_11581ab2-e92e-5a48-a1b8-c70426886137-7534940.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1200x1387_cmsv2_11581ab2-e92e-5a48-a1b8-c70426886137-7534940.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1920x2219_cmsv2_11581ab2-e92e-5a48-a1b8-c70426886137-7534940.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Sajudis supporters demonstrate in front of the Lithuanian Parliament in Vilnius, 11 March 1990<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Keplicz&#47;AP1990<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>At the time, I was the chief of staff to the Senate majority leader in Michigan, and we were politically engaged. We try to help them in any way we could with various introductions and conferences.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Actually, the first two governments that were there came over and met at Hillsdale College to hear what Western values are and how you run a democracy.<\/p>\n<p>I gave a speech at the medical society there, and one of the doctors asked you what the most important thing they could do, and I said it was figuring out how to kind of cleanse that Soviet mindset over a freedom-based mindset where you were no longer stealing from the government, stealing from Moscow.<\/p>\n<p>That was now taking from your own people. Not only did they have to do the logistical stuff of figuring out how to run their own country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They had to change the way they thought where the government now was of the people, and they were trying to create a new free independent country. And I think that was just as much of a challenge as anything else.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Euronews View: Lithuania is a small country, especially compared to the rest of the Soviet Union and Russia. How do you feel about the fact that the people outside of Lithuania and even in its immediate neighbourhood have somewhat forgotten how much courage and energy it took for Lithuania and the rest of the three Baltic states to be where they are today?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Saul Anuzis: It&#039;s just part of history, and people just moved on. I mean, there are other crises at hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But I do think that a lot of people, especially those who are involved in the kind of captive nations mindset of understanding those who are trying to break away from the Soviet bloc, know that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia still led the way. They were the early ones who walked out on the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n<p>You had the Baltic Way, when the Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians stood up and down that highway and held hands to show the citizens&#039; interest in having their own independence. It became a mass movement.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6494140625\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//53//49//40//808x525_cmsv2_b6250fb0-1fb0-51c9-8dff-5c290c7f721c-7534940.jpg/" alt=\"AP Photo&#47;Alexander Zemlianchenko\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/384x249_cmsv2_b6250fb0-1fb0-51c9-8dff-5c290c7f721c-7534940.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/640x416_cmsv2_b6250fb0-1fb0-51c9-8dff-5c290c7f721c-7534940.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/750x487_cmsv2_b6250fb0-1fb0-51c9-8dff-5c290c7f721c-7534940.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/828x538_cmsv2_b6250fb0-1fb0-51c9-8dff-5c290c7f721c-7534940.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1080x701_cmsv2_b6250fb0-1fb0-51c9-8dff-5c290c7f721c-7534940.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1200x779_cmsv2_b6250fb0-1fb0-51c9-8dff-5c290c7f721c-7534940.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1920x1247_cmsv2_b6250fb0-1fb0-51c9-8dff-5c290c7f721c-7534940.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">People carry a civilian who was wounded during the Soviet Army attack on the TV Tower in Vilnius, 13 January 1991<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">AP Photo&#47;Alexander Zemlianchenko<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>You&#039;re seeing a different scenario happening in Ukraine, but at the same time, you&#039;ve got countries like Poland who are very supportive and reacting because they also lived under the yoke of the Soviets dominating their country, and they don&#039;t want to see that happen again.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I think those are some of the reasons you see the Baltics being supportive of Ukraine, you see Poland being supportive of Ukraine and others.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Because they&#039;ve experienced both living under Soviet rule and influence and the benefits and values of freedom and the Eastern European countries, especially those former Soviet satellite states, have had a very positive impact both on NATO and the world as a whole.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Euronews View: Do you think that the rest of Europe, and the West in particular, have listened to Lithuanians enough when they, together with others, warned us of Moscow\u2019s malign intentions?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Saul Anuzis: I would say people listened to them; I just don&#039;t know necessarily how they reacted. I mean, there was a tremendous amount of interest in finding out how things worked.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Very quickly, NATO, as well as other intelligence services, were in Lithuania and the Baltics, learning from their experiences of how the process was set up, what people did, and what people didn&#039;t do.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, early on, there were a lot of people in leadership that were part of the Communist Party part of the security infrastructure of the Soviets. And so there was some very valuable intelligence and information that was shared with regards to process, tactics, strategy and what they did in Moscow.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I think that helped the West prepare for the continuing barrage of propaganda \u2014 how they manipulated governments or tried to manipulate governments and how they engaged in different types of activities.<\/p>\n<p>There were institutes and foundations that were set up to share what happened during the Soviet occupation, and all that stuff was very valuable because it was like the first-hand experience of all the things that we suspected were going on in the Soviet Union and didn&#039;t quite have all the best information and necessarily the full information of it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.66796875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//53//49//40//808x539_cmsv2_f9f836b4-a3ee-5412-8819-253eb6bc95c1-7534940.jpg/" alt=\"Peter Andrews&#47;AP\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/384x257_cmsv2_f9f836b4-a3ee-5412-8819-253eb6bc95c1-7534940.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/640x428_cmsv2_f9f836b4-a3ee-5412-8819-253eb6bc95c1-7534940.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/750x501_cmsv2_f9f836b4-a3ee-5412-8819-253eb6bc95c1-7534940.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/828x553_cmsv2_f9f836b4-a3ee-5412-8819-253eb6bc95c1-7534940.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1080x721_cmsv2_f9f836b4-a3ee-5412-8819-253eb6bc95c1-7534940.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1200x802_cmsv2_f9f836b4-a3ee-5412-8819-253eb6bc95c1-7534940.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1920x1283_cmsv2_f9f836b4-a3ee-5412-8819-253eb6bc95c1-7534940.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">A Soviet paratrooper gestures with a thumbs-up while standing guard outside the Lithuanian TV and radio center in Vilnius, 29 January 1991<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Peter Andrews&#47;AP<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Also, the KGB archives opened up. It was a very interesting time because a lot of people pulled all kinds of documents and records.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They knew who was talking to who and what they were talking about. I used to go and stay at the hotel down at Vilnius Park, and later they showed us the listening rooms where every room had recording devices.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They found the office where somebody sat there and reported to the intelligence service. You had somebody sitting on every floor watching who walked in the rooms and kept track of who people were and all that kind of stuff.<\/p>\n<p>It was very real and something that I think most people in the West had no idea how restrictive and how invasive it was in people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Euronews View: As you said, Lithuania, the Baltics and other neighbouring countries are extremely supportive of Ukraine, another country that liberated itself of the Soviet Union. Is there something from your experience in Lithuania and in general that could maybe help shed more light on the interest Vladimir Putin and his associates have in waging a war against Ukraine?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Saul Anuzis: One of the big lessons is the fact that states like the Baltics, Ukraine, and Poland threaten the Russian system.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Because people realise that there&#039;s an alternative to having a strong dictator leader and a system that basically \u201ctakes care of you\u201d because you can&#039;t somehow take care of yourself. There&#039;s an alternative that\u2019s the danger for the Russians.<\/p>\n<p>Just walk through the Soviet republics and take a look at these people experiencing free markets, free minds, education, western values coming in, westerners coming in, finding out they&#039;re not all enemies.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.66796875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//53//49//40//808x539_cmsv2_b7ef5d6a-bb49-5bb1-bddd-b07c47f03479-7534940.jpg/" alt=\"Alexander Zemlianichenko&#47;AP\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/384x257_cmsv2_b7ef5d6a-bb49-5bb1-bddd-b07c47f03479-7534940.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/640x428_cmsv2_b7ef5d6a-bb49-5bb1-bddd-b07c47f03479-7534940.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/750x501_cmsv2_b7ef5d6a-bb49-5bb1-bddd-b07c47f03479-7534940.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/828x553_cmsv2_b7ef5d6a-bb49-5bb1-bddd-b07c47f03479-7534940.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1080x721_cmsv2_b7ef5d6a-bb49-5bb1-bddd-b07c47f03479-7534940.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1200x802_cmsv2_b7ef5d6a-bb49-5bb1-bddd-b07c47f03479-7534940.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/1920x1283_cmsv2_b7ef5d6a-bb49-5bb1-bddd-b07c47f03479-7534940.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Thousands gather outside of the Parliament in Vilnius, 26 January 1991<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Alexander Zemlianichenko&#47;AP<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>They&#039;re not all enemies of the state. They&#039;re not trying to take you over from a different way, but they&#039;re actually trying to institute a degree of democracy and freedom and freedom of choice.<\/p>\n<p>That then translates and kind of spreads into Russia, which is a big danger to their ruling system. The oligarchs and their clique of intelligence services and former party members still run much of the infrastructure throughout Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It&#039;s a cleptocracy that operates knowingly, acceptingly, even amongst the people. There&#039;s almost an acceptance of the way Russia works, and what&#039;s going to change that is the experiences of Ukraine, Poland, and other former Soviet bloc states that have moved forward and created systems of education and universities and freedom of the press.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And they&#039;re not all perfect, and they&#039;re not all there yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But they&#039;re all working towards that, and eventually, as democracy takes place, as people engage in this, they realise that that is a better system than what the Soviets had and what the Russians currently use. I think that&#039;s the danger.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1681475323,"publishedAt":1681493774,"updatedAt":1681592974,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2023\/04\/14\/view-qa-lithuania-led-the-struggle-for-freedom-from-moscows-yoke-expert-recalls","programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet-web","format":"default"},"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_5cceb843-e162-5e5c-b1b1-e01f231ff196-7534940.jpg","altText":"A soldier explains to a young man he would prefer to be a civilian during a street discussion in Vilnius, 26 March 1990","caption":"A soldier explains to a young man he would prefer to be a civilian during a street discussion in Vilnius, 26 March 1990","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo\/Euronews","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":900},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_b7ef5d6a-bb49-5bb1-bddd-b07c47f03479-7534940.jpg","altText":"Thousands gather outside of the Parliament in Vilnius, 26 January 1991","caption":"Thousands gather outside of the Parliament in Vilnius, 26 January 1991","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Alexander Zemlianichenko\/AP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":684},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_f9f836b4-a3ee-5412-8819-253eb6bc95c1-7534940.jpg","altText":"A Soviet paratrooper gestures with a thumbs-up while standing guard outside the Lithuanian TV and radio center in Vilnius, 29 January 1991","caption":"A Soviet paratrooper gestures with a thumbs-up while standing guard outside the Lithuanian TV and radio center in Vilnius, 29 January 1991","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Peter Andrews\/AP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":684},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_b6250fb0-1fb0-51c9-8dff-5c290c7f721c-7534940.jpg","altText":"People carry a civilian who was wounded during the Soviet Army attack on the TV Tower in Vilnius, 13 January 1991","caption":"People carry a civilian who was wounded during the Soviet Army attack on the TV Tower in Vilnius, 13 January 1991","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo\/Alexander Zemlianchenko","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":665},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_a2cf2f61-ac9b-5172-8254-5cbd79512636-7534940.jpg","altText":"Anti-Soviet political graffiti filled the entire wall built with concrete slabs is erected in Vilnius, 17 January 1991","caption":"Anti-Soviet political graffiti filled the entire wall built with concrete slabs is erected in Vilnius, 17 January 1991","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Liu Heung Shing\/AP1991","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":682},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_11581ab2-e92e-5a48-a1b8-c70426886137-7534940.jpg","altText":"Sajudis supporters demonstrate in front of the Lithuanian Parliament in Vilnius, 11 March 1990","caption":"Sajudis supporters demonstrate in front of the Lithuanian Parliament in Vilnius, 11 March 1990","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Keplicz\/AP1990","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":886,"height":1024},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/53\/49\/40\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_d4a0c350-52df-50c4-8e51-8272bc62068f-7534940.jpg","altText":"More than 1000 people went through the centre of Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on bicycles, April 1990","caption":"More than 1000 people went through the centre of Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on bicycles, April 1990","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Pavel Horejai\/AP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":675}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":10619,"slug":"lithuania-politics","urlSafeValue":"lithuania-politics","title":"Lithuania 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and manure: Why are Lithuanian farmers so hacked off?","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Milk and manure: Why are Lithuanian farmers so hacked off?","titleListing2":"??? Milk and manure: Why are Lithuanian farmers so hacked off? Lithuanian young farmers say they're giving up hope for the future of traditional livelihoods in the Baltic nation.","leadin":"Lithuanian young farmers say they're giving up hope for the future of traditional livelihoods in the Baltic nation.","summary":"Lithuanian young farmers say they're giving up hope for the future of traditional livelihoods in the Baltic nation.","keySentence":null,"url":"milk-and-manure-why-are-lithuanian-farmers-so-hacked-off","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"On a rare sunny day in Vilnius, something increasingly common happened.\u00a0 \n\nThe country's farmers were out protesting - yet again. \n\nIn recent weeks, irate\u00a0Lithuanian dairy farmers have given away their milk for free to anyone with a bottle and\u00a0erected crucifixes outside supermarkets, as the sorry state of their industry pushes many to the brink of ruin.\u00a0 \n\nAnother day, another protest.\u00a0 \n\nOn Thursday, nearly 1,000 farmers from across all corners of the tiny Baltic country gathered outside the parliament, calling for the Agricultural Minister's resignation.\u00a0 \n\nThey brought with them supermarket bags packed full of manure and wellington boots, soon chucked in protest on a nearby lawn. \n\nWith many decked out in suits or tweeds, demonstrators vented their anger at the pitiful rates they are paid for their milk.\u00a0 \n\n\"Every month, I am in the minus. It costs me more to make a litre of milk than I get back,\" said Naglis\u00a0Sakalauskas, who has a herd of 70 cows near Anyksciai, a popular resort town. \n\n\"Would this be ok for you,\" he told Euronews.\u00a0 \n\nEven in the bitter, dark winter months, when temperatures plunge well below freezing, the young dairy farmer is out the door at 4:30 am, regularly grafting until 10 pm -- six days a week.\u00a0 \n\nMore than unsustainable prices \n\nAgainst a backdrop of the war in Ukraine, one of the key problems facing farmers is inflation, with the Baltics experiencing some of the highest price rises in Europe last year.\u00a0 \n\n\"Diesel is going up. Food is going up. Everything is going up,\" Sakalauskas told Euronews, estimating that he received 25 cents per litre of milk, while his costs were 35 cents.\u00a0 \n\n\"It's not possible\".\u00a0 \n\nBut he added there were troubles long before Russian tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border.\u00a0 \n\n\"The biggest problem is those people over there,\" he said, pointing to the imposing Communist-era parliament building across the street, once known as \"Soviet Palace\".\u00a0 \n\n\"They need to help farmers get the best price for their milk.\" \n\nDairy farmers have asked for aid of \u20ac40 million, but the government has so far refused.\u00a0 \n\nLithuanian farmers claim their milk is purchased at some of the lowest prices in the EU, especially compared to neighbours Poland and Latvia, which is driving them towards bankruptcy.\u00a0 \n\nGovernment figures show the average raw milk purchase price fell for the second month in a row in December to 0.51 euro per kilogram, down by 6.7 per cent from November, but it was still up nearly 20% year-on-year.\u00a0 \n\nSpeaking to LRT in February, the Agriculture Ministry blamed the low rates on a glut of milk, cream, butter and cheese, which was piling up in warehouses.\u00a0 \n\n'We are ignored' \n\nGiedrius Matuskevicius, another protester clad in a green puffer jacket, complained that officials were indifferent to the plight of farmers.\u00a0 \n\n\"They know what we are going to say,\" he told Euronews. \"They are destroying all the factories, trying to squeeze the budget as low as possible. They don't care.\"\u00a0 \n\nMatuskevicius, was once a dairy farmer himself, but gave it up after working too much \"without a euro in my pocket,\" and never seeing his wife and kids.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\n\"We need to open our eyes and ask where all this money is going,\" he said, alluding to the yawning difference between the price people pay in the shops and the amount farmers receive.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\nLike in other European countries, Lithuanian dairy farmers say they are squeezed by huge chain supermarkets, amid endemic neglect by the authorities.\u00a0 \n\nBut it seems they may have been pushed too far.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\nHolding a foreboding sign reading '2024: It was good to drink coffee with milk', Mintare used to dream of working on her parent's farm.\u00a0 \n\nNow the teenager says she would rather join the army.\u00a0 \n\n\"The milk price is just so low,\"\u00a0Mintare told Euronews. \"My parents are stressed and maybe unhappy too. Of course, we need the money\".\u00a0 \n\nMore than one in eight milk farmers closed their business last year, according to LRT, selling their cows to farmers in Poland.\u00a0 \n\nIn May, the Ministry of Agriculture pledged to give dairy farmers \u20ac8 million in support.\u00a0This week it asked the European Commission for \"exceptional\" financial support from EU reserves to assist farmers.\u00a0 \n\n\"Every year it is the same,\" said farmer Sakalauskas.\"Milk price goes down, we protest, we wait a year, and then again protest.\" \n\n\"But I am young. I still have hope.\" \n\nIn a statement sent to Euronews, the Agricultural Ministry said: \"The Ministry of Agriculture, together with the Government, is doing everything within their competence to stabilise the situation in the dairy sector in Lithuania.\"\u00a0 \n\n\"In order to find possible ways to solve problems of the milk sector, meetings are regularly organised with social partners and dairy sector participants.\" \n\nAmendments to the country's Milk Law, which would strengthen the bargaining power of milk sellers, are due to be discussed by the \"Milk Council\" on Friday, according to the ministry.","htmlText":"<p>On a rare sunny day in Vilnius, something increasingly common happened.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The country&#039;s farmers were out protesting - yet again.<\/p>\n<p>In recent weeks, irate\u00a0Lithuanian dairy farmers have given away their milk for free to anyone with a bottle and\u00a0erected crucifixes outside supermarkets, as the sorry state of their industry pushes many to the brink of ruin.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Another day, another protest.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, nearly 1,000 farmers from across all corners of the tiny Baltic country gathered outside the parliament, calling for the Agricultural Minister&#039;s resignation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"1.3333333333333333\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//48//20//86//808x1077_cmsv2_4d922238-ce1b-5bf8-8063-66812eae9538-7482086.jpg/" alt=\"Joshua Askew\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/384x512_cmsv2_4d922238-ce1b-5bf8-8063-66812eae9538-7482086.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/640x853_cmsv2_4d922238-ce1b-5bf8-8063-66812eae9538-7482086.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/750x1000_cmsv2_4d922238-ce1b-5bf8-8063-66812eae9538-7482086.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/828x1104_cmsv2_4d922238-ce1b-5bf8-8063-66812eae9538-7482086.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/1080x1440_cmsv2_4d922238-ce1b-5bf8-8063-66812eae9538-7482086.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/1200x1600_cmsv2_4d922238-ce1b-5bf8-8063-66812eae9538-7482086.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/1920x2560_cmsv2_4d922238-ce1b-5bf8-8063-66812eae9538-7482086.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Many farmers wore smart suits.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Joshua Askew<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>They brought with them supermarket bags packed full of manure and wellington boots, soon chucked in protest on a nearby lawn.<\/p>\n<p>With many decked out in suits or tweeds, demonstrators vented their anger at the pitiful rates they are paid for their milk.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"Every month, I am in the minus. It costs me more to make a litre of milk than I get back,\" said Naglis\u00a0Sakalauskas, who has a herd of 70 cows near Anyksciai, a popular resort town.<\/p>\n<p>\"Would this be ok for you,\" he told Euronews.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Even in the bitter, dark winter months, when temperatures plunge well below freezing, the young dairy farmer is out the door at 4:30 am, regularly grafting until 10 pm -- six days a week.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><strong>More than unsustainable prices<\/strong><\/h2><p>Against a backdrop of the war in Ukraine, one of the key problems facing farmers is inflation, with the Baltics experiencing some of the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.lrt.lt//en//news-in-english//19//1731406//baltic-states-report-highest-inflation-in-euro-zone/">highest price rises<\/strong><\/a> in Europe last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"Diesel is going up. Food is going up. Everything is going up,\" Sakalauskas told Euronews, estimating that he received 25 cents per litre of milk, while his costs were 35 cents.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"It&#039;s not possible\".\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But he added there were troubles long before Russian tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"The biggest problem is those people over there,\" he said, pointing to the imposing Communist-era parliament building across the street, once known as \"Soviet Palace\".\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"They need to help farmers get the best price for their milk.\"<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.75\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//48//20//86//808x608_cmsv2_3102e1e6-4915-559d-8036-4d0b30dba284-7482086.jpg/" alt=\"Joshua Askew\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/384x288_cmsv2_3102e1e6-4915-559d-8036-4d0b30dba284-7482086.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/640x480_cmsv2_3102e1e6-4915-559d-8036-4d0b30dba284-7482086.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/750x563_cmsv2_3102e1e6-4915-559d-8036-4d0b30dba284-7482086.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/828x621_cmsv2_3102e1e6-4915-559d-8036-4d0b30dba284-7482086.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/1080x810_cmsv2_3102e1e6-4915-559d-8036-4d0b30dba284-7482086.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/1200x900_cmsv2_3102e1e6-4915-559d-8036-4d0b30dba284-7482086.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/1920x1440_cmsv2_3102e1e6-4915-559d-8036-4d0b30dba284-7482086.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Thousands of people attended the rally.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Joshua Askew<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Dairy farmers have asked for aid of \u20ac40 million, but the government has so far refused.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lithuanian farmers claim their milk is purchased at some of the lowest prices in the EU, especially compared to neighbours Poland and Latvia, which is driving them towards bankruptcy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Government figures show the average raw milk purchase price fell for the second month in a row in December to 0.51 euro per kilogram, down by 6.7 per cent from November, but it was still up nearly 20% year-on-year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to LRT in February, the Agriculture Ministry blamed the low rates on a glut of milk, cream, butter and cheese, which was piling up in warehouses.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><strong>'We are ignored'<\/strong><\/h2><p>Giedrius Matuskevicius, another protester clad in a green puffer jacket, complained that officials were indifferent to the plight of farmers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"They know what we are going to say,\" he told Euronews. \"They are destroying all the factories, trying to squeeze the budget as low as possible. They don&#039;t care.\"\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Matuskevicius, was once a dairy farmer himself, but gave it up after working too much \"without a euro in my pocket,\" and never seeing his wife and kids.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"We need to open our eyes and ask where all this money is going,\" he said, alluding to the yawning difference between the price people pay in the shops and the amount farmers receive.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Like in other European countries, Lithuanian dairy farmers say they are squeezed by huge chain supermarkets, amid endemic neglect by the authorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.75\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//48//20//86//808x608_cmsv2_e2a7e271-4f4f-5d6e-812e-21c9e2529e8a-7482086.jpg/" alt=\"Joshua Askew\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/384x288_cmsv2_e2a7e271-4f4f-5d6e-812e-21c9e2529e8a-7482086.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/640x480_cmsv2_e2a7e271-4f4f-5d6e-812e-21c9e2529e8a-7482086.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/750x563_cmsv2_e2a7e271-4f4f-5d6e-812e-21c9e2529e8a-7482086.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/828x621_cmsv2_e2a7e271-4f4f-5d6e-812e-21c9e2529e8a-7482086.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/1080x810_cmsv2_e2a7e271-4f4f-5d6e-812e-21c9e2529e8a-7482086.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/1200x900_cmsv2_e2a7e271-4f4f-5d6e-812e-21c9e2529e8a-7482086.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/1920x1440_cmsv2_e2a7e271-4f4f-5d6e-812e-21c9e2529e8a-7482086.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Thousands of people attended the rally.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Joshua Askew<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>But it seems they may have been pushed too far.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Holding a foreboding sign reading &#039;2024: It was good to drink coffee with milk&#039;, Mintare used to dream of working on her parent&#039;s farm.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Now the teenager says she would rather join the army.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"The milk price is just so low,\"\u00a0Mintare told Euronews. \"My parents are stressed and maybe unhappy too. Of course, we need the money\".\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>More than <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.lrt.lt//en//news-in-english//19//1098437//lithuanian-farmers-sell-off-cows-to-poland-saying-dairy-farming-unsustainable/">one in eight milk farmers closed<\/strong><\/a> their business last year, according to LRT, selling their cows to farmers in Poland.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In May, the Ministry of Agriculture pledged to give dairy farmers \u20ac8 million in support.\u00a0This week it asked the European Commission for \"exceptional\" financial support from EU reserves to assist farmers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"Every year it is the same,\" said farmer Sakalauskas.\"Milk price goes down, we protest, we wait a year, and then again protest.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"But I am young. I still have hope.\"<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.75\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//48//20//86//808x608_cmsv2_3e7f8e56-c405-53f6-b7c0-d229950f45c1-7482086.jpg/" alt=\"Joshua Askew\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/384x288_cmsv2_3e7f8e56-c405-53f6-b7c0-d229950f45c1-7482086.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/640x480_cmsv2_3e7f8e56-c405-53f6-b7c0-d229950f45c1-7482086.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/750x563_cmsv2_3e7f8e56-c405-53f6-b7c0-d229950f45c1-7482086.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/828x621_cmsv2_3e7f8e56-c405-53f6-b7c0-d229950f45c1-7482086.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/1080x810_cmsv2_3e7f8e56-c405-53f6-b7c0-d229950f45c1-7482086.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/1200x900_cmsv2_3e7f8e56-c405-53f6-b7c0-d229950f45c1-7482086.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/1920x1440_cmsv2_3e7f8e56-c405-53f6-b7c0-d229950f45c1-7482086.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Bags of manure were laid on a patch of grass near the parliament.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Joshua Askew<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>In a statement sent to Euronews, the Agricultural Ministry said: \"The Ministry of Agriculture, together with the Government, is doing everything within their competence to stabilise the situation in the dairy sector in Lithuania.\"\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"In order to find possible ways to solve problems of the milk sector, meetings are regularly organised with social partners and dairy sector participants.\"<\/p>\n<p>Amendments to the country&#039;s Milk Law, which would strengthen the bargaining power of milk sellers, are due to be discussed by the \"Milk Council\" on Friday, according to the ministry.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1679571157,"publishedAt":1679590572,"updatedAt":1679638278,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2023\/03\/23\/milk-and-manure-why-are-lithuanian-farmers-so-hacked-off","programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_b8ef966c-e2b7-5bca-a412-cff48e848c4a-7482086.jpg","altText":"The farmers held up hand made signs criticising the sorry state of affairs.","caption":"The farmers held up hand made signs criticising the sorry state of affairs.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Joshua Askew","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":947,"height":805},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_3e7f8e56-c405-53f6-b7c0-d229950f45c1-7482086.jpg","altText":"Bags of manure were laid on a patch of grass near the parliament.","caption":"Bags of manure were laid on a patch of grass near the parliament.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Joshua Askew","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1500},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_354aee02-5092-5086-b87d-1b8f51bb8a1c-7482086.jpg","altText":"The farmers held up hand made signs criticising the sorry state of affairs.","caption":"The farmers held up hand made signs criticising the sorry state of affairs.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Joshua Askew","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":947,"height":945},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_e2a7e271-4f4f-5d6e-812e-21c9e2529e8a-7482086.jpg","altText":"Milk was given away for free at the demo.","caption":"Milk was given away for free at the demo.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Joshua Askew","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1500},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_3102e1e6-4915-559d-8036-4d0b30dba284-7482086.jpg","altText":"Thousands of people attended the rally.","caption":"Thousands of people attended the rally.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Joshua Askew","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1500},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_4d922238-ce1b-5bf8-8063-66812eae9538-7482086.jpg","altText":"Many farmers wore smart suits.","caption":"Many farmers wore smart suits.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Joshua Askew","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1500,"height":2000},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/48\/20\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_416f9fc6-0fa2-54b3-8530-cbb91beabf7f-7482086.jpg","altText":"The farmers held up hand made signs criticising the sorry state of affairs.","caption":"The farmers held up hand made signs criticising the sorry state of affairs.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Joshua Askew","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1500}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"askew","title":"Joshua Askew","twitter":"@jweaskew"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":10619,"slug":"lithuania-politics","urlSafeValue":"lithuania-politics","title":"Lithuania politics","titleRaw":"Lithuania 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in Vilnius after flowers placed on destroyed Russian tank","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":null,"titleListing2":"Brawl in Vilnius after flowers placed on destroyed Russian tank","leadin":"Lithuanian police are investigating a series of incidents of Russian sympathisers bringing flowers to a destroyed Russian tank on display in the capital.","summary":"Lithuanian police are investigating a series of incidents of Russian sympathisers bringing flowers to a destroyed Russian tank on display in the capital.","keySentence":null,"url":"brawl-in-vilnius-after-flowers-place-on-destroyed-russian-tank","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Police in Vilnius have launched an investigation into a series of incidents, after pro-Russian sympathisers put tributes on a destroyed tank in the city's main square.\u00a0 \n\nOn Sunday evening, a fight broke out after a group of Russian\u00a0supporters placed flowers and lit candles on the Russian tank,\u00a0which was destroyed in fighting outside Kyiv, and donated by Ukraine to Lithuania.\u00a0 \n\nPunches were reportedly thrown between supporters of Russia and Ukraine, and police say one man was injured in the brawl in Vilnius's Cathedral Square. Some 20-30 people participated.\u00a0 \n\nSimilar altercations were reported on 24 February, the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\nThe incidents -- with the first reportedly involving a popular standup comedian and aide to the mayor of Vilnius as bystanders -- highlight the divisive nature of the Ukraine war in Lithuania.\u00a0 \n\n\"This action was very negatively evaluated by Lithuanian society,\"\u00a0Remigijus \u0160ima\u0161ius, Mayor of Vilnius said in a statement sent to Euronews, adding it had helped \"expose those who support Russia's aggression\". \n\n\"Not all of Lithuania's Russians support Russia's aggression against Ukraine - in my opinion, they are an absolute minority. Perhaps 1-3% of all Lithuanian residents,\" he said.\u00a0 \n\n\nWhile the vast majority of Lithuanians fiercely support Ukraine, remembering the country's devastating occupation by the USSR, a small minority of Russian speakers have defended Moscow and supported its aims.\u00a0 \n\n\n\"A war is a terrible thing,\" Professor Stanislovas Tomas, an advocate for Lithuania's Russian-speaking minority, told Euronews.\u00a0 \n\n\"However... the\u00a0Lithuanian government has pushed the Russian language minority to bring flowers to the damaged Russian tank... [by] treating them as enemies.\" \n\nCritics have blasted a series of moves by the authorities, such as taking down a Stalin-era WW2 memorial, as divisive, though supporters say they are necessary to show solidarity with Kyiv.\u00a0 \n\nLithuania is also home to tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.\u00a0 \n\nVilnius Mayor candidate Tomas Vytautas Raskevi\u010dius, facing elections this Sunday, brought a washing machine to the Russian tank as a political stunt. \n\n\"We have heard countless stories from Ukraine about Russian soldiers stealing household appliances and transporting them to Russia in tanks - a reminder of the despicable actions of Russian soldiers,\" said the current mayor\u00a0\u0160ima\u0161ius. \n\nPolice investigating the tank incidents are looking into possible violations of the ban on displaying Soviet symbols, punishable by a fine of up to \u20ac700. \n\nLithuanian law currently prohibits the distribution and display of USSR, Nazi Germany, Lithuanian SSR flags, coats of arms and symbols, including the Soviet hammer and sickle and the Soviet red five-pointed star. \n\nThe\u00a0Russian T-72B tank, destroyed by the Ukrainian army, went on display in Vilnius last week. \n\nAccording to LRT, Lithuania's public broadcaster,\u00a0a white BMW with the license plate \u201cMoi Mir\u201d (\u201cMy world\u201d in Russian) pulled up to the tank on Sunday evening.\u00a0 \n\nA group of men and women got out and laid red carnations on the tank.\u00a0 \n\nIn footage shared widely on social media, they are then seen engaging with bystanders in heated discussions, with one unidentified man being punched, according to Vilnius County Chief Police Commissariat,\u00a0Julija Samorokovskaja. \n\nWhether the victim placed the flowers or was an outraged passerby is not known.","htmlText":"<p>Police in Vilnius have launched an investigation into a series of incidents, after pro-Russian sympathisers put tributes on a destroyed tank in the city&#039;s main square.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday evening, a fight broke out after a group of Russian\u00a0supporters placed flowers and lit candles on the Russian tank,\u00a0which was destroyed in fighting outside Kyiv, and donated by Ukraine to Lithuania.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Punches were reportedly thrown between supporters of Russia and Ukraine, and police say one man was injured in the brawl in Vilnius&#039;s Cathedral Square. Some 20-30 people participated.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Similar altercations were reported on 24 February, the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<div data-oembed-url=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/zalzakas\/posts\/pfbid02n69JRM5Vo3Ab6dXcCbyQomxhRe5mjYRpriJZVhSQHR3PfbrATydJaKK5TnqYhUVYl\" class=\"widget widget--type-facebook widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div> <script async=\"1\" defer=\"1\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////connect.facebook.net//fr_FR//sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v16.0\" nonce=\"Rzve4DII\"><\/script><div class=\"fb-post\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/zalzakas\/posts\/pfbid02n69JRM5Vo3Ab6dXcCbyQomxhRe5mjYRpriJZVhSQHR3PfbrATydJaKK5TnqYhUVYl\" data-width=\"552\"><blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/graph.facebook.com\/563945365\/posts\/10167191576030366\/\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\"><p>Galvoju i\u0161l\u012fsiu vakare pa\u017ei\u016br\u0117ti prie tanko. Pataikiau pa\u010diu laiku - pagars\u0117j\u0119s vatnikas ir NATO nekent\u0117jas Jonas...<\/p>Posted by <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"#\" role=\"button\">Karolis \u017dukauskas<\/a> on&nbsp;<a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////graph.facebook.com//563945365//posts//10167191576030366///">Monday, February 27, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><\/div> \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>The incidents -- with the first reportedly involving a popular standup comedian and aide to the mayor of Vilnius as bystanders -- highlight the divisive nature of the Ukraine war in Lithuania.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"This action was very negatively evaluated by Lithuanian society,\"\u00a0Remigijus \u0160ima\u0161ius, Mayor of Vilnius said in a statement sent to Euronews, adding it had helped \"expose those who support Russia&#039;s aggression\".<\/p>\n<p>\"Not all of Lithuania&#039;s Russians support Russia&#039;s aggression against Ukraine - in my opinion, they are an absolute minority. Perhaps 1-3% of all Lithuanian residents,\" he said.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>While the vast majority of Lithuanians fiercely support Ukraine, remembering the country&#039;s devastating occupation by the USSR, a small minority of Russian speakers have defended Moscow and supported its aims.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"6681134\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2022//06//14//why-lithuania-is-polarised-over-russia-s-war-in-ukraine/">Why Lithuania is polarised over Russia's war in Ukraine<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\"A war is a terrible thing,\" Professor Stanislovas Tomas, an advocate for Lithuania&#039;s Russian-speaking minority, told Euronews.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"However... the\u00a0Lithuanian government has pushed the Russian language minority to bring flowers to the damaged Russian tank... [by] treating them as enemies.\"<\/p>\n<p>Critics have blasted a series of moves by the authorities, such as taking down a Stalin-era WW2 memorial, as divisive, though supporters say they are necessary to show solidarity with Kyiv.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania is also home to tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vilnius Mayor candidate Tomas Vytautas Raskevi\u010dius, facing elections this Sunday, brought a washing machine to the Russian tank as a political stunt.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\"We have heard countless stories from Ukraine about Russian soldiers stealing household appliances and transporting them to Russia in tanks - a reminder of the despicable actions of Russian soldiers,\" said the current mayor\u00a0\u0160ima\u0161ius.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"7224686\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//12//02//row-breaks-out-as-vilnius-tears-down-stalin-era-ww2-memorial/">Row breaks out as Vilnius tears down Stalin-era WW2 memorial<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Police investigating the tank incidents are looking into possible violations of the ban on displaying Soviet symbols, punishable by a fine of up to \u20ac700.<\/p>\n<p>Lithuanian law currently prohibits the distribution and display of USSR, Nazi Germany, Lithuanian SSR flags, coats of arms and symbols, including the Soviet hammer and sickle and the Soviet red five-pointed star.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0Russian T-72B tank, destroyed by the Ukrainian army, went on display in Vilnius last week.<\/p>\n<p>According to LRT, Lithuania&#039;s public broadcaster,\u00a0a white BMW with the license plate \u201cMoi Mir\u201d (\u201cMy world\u201d in Russian) pulled up to the tank on Sunday evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A group of men and women got out and laid red carnations on the tank.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In footage shared widely on social media, they are then seen engaging with bystanders in heated discussions, with one unidentified man being punched, according to Vilnius County Chief Police Commissariat,\u00a0Julija Samorokovskaja.<\/p>\n<p>Whether the victim placed the flowers or was an outraged passerby is not known.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1677597125,"publishedAt":1677604129,"updatedAt":1677662516,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2023\/02\/28\/brawl-in-vilnius-after-flowers-place-on-destroyed-russian-tank","programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/43\/36\/54\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_be6a5204-c07d-553e-b8d6-239ccaf37ef2-7433654.jpg","altText":"A woman plays with a dog on the destroyed Russian tank t Cathedral Square in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023.","caption":"A woman plays with a dog on the destroyed Russian tank t Cathedral Square in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Mindaugas Kulbis\/Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":596},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/43\/36\/54\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_082dbe4d-be18-55ff-a091-0184be6e1465-7433654.jpg","altText":"A woman plays with a dog on the destroyed Russian tank t Cathedral Square in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023.","caption":"A woman plays with a dog on the destroyed Russian tank t Cathedral Square in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Mindaugas Kulbis\/Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"askew","title":"Joshua Askew","twitter":"@jweaskew"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":19358,"slug":"vilnius","urlSafeValue":"vilnius","title":"vilnius","titleRaw":"vilnius"},{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":26692,"slug":"war-in-ukraine","urlSafeValue":"war-in-ukraine","title":"Ukraine war","titleRaw":"Ukraine war"}],"related":[],"technicalTags":[{"path":"euronews.byenglishwebteam"},{"path":"euronews"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"facebook","count":1},{"slug":"related","count":2}],"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":{"quotation":null,"description":null,"author":null},"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":null,"contentType":null,"displayOverlay":0},"displayType":"default","video":0,"videos":[],"externalPartners":[],"liveStream":[],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"world news","online":1,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"isDfp":0,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":""},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":174,"urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","url":"\/news\/europe\/lithuania"},"town":[],"versions":[],"path":"\/2023\/02\/28\/brawl-in-vilnius-after-flowers-place-on-destroyed-russian-tank","lastModified":1677662516},{"id":2180350,"cid":7324028,"versionId":3,"archive":0,"housenumber":"230121_NWSU_50056063","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"grapeshot":"'gt_negative','gv_death_injury','neg_facebook_2021','neg_mobkoi_castrol','neg_nespresso','gb_death_injury_news-ent','neg_facebook','castrol_negative_uk','gt_negative_fear','gb_sensitive_news-ent','gs_science','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_ukraine-russia','pos_ukrainecrisis','gs_law','neg_intel_en','gs_society','gs_law_misc','gs_society_misc','gs_science_geography','gs_science_environ','gs_science_environment'","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"'There are bodies in the forest': Missing migrants worry activists on Lithuania-Belarus border","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"'Bodies in the forest': Missing migrants worry activists","titleListing2":"'There are bodies in the forest': Missing migrants worry activists on Lithuania-Belarus border","leadin":"Lithuania\u2019s government recently approved controversial legislation to formalise pushbacks as an official policy at the Belarus border.","summary":"Lithuania\u2019s government recently approved controversial legislation to formalise pushbacks as an official policy at the Belarus border.","keySentence":null,"url":"there-are-bodies-in-the-forest-missing-migrants-worry-activists-on-lithuania-belarus-borde","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The Lithuanian-Belarussian border is littered with the bodies of migrants, who have died trying to enter the EU, human rights groups have alleged. \n\nSienos Grupe , a Lithuanian humanitarian organisation, has collected a list of around 30 people, whose families lost contact with them on Europe\u2019s eastern frontier. \n\nThe group is working hard to help loved ones find their missing relatives, piecing together information and grimly scouring refugee camps, hospitals and morgues. \n\nMuch of what is happening slips under the radar, they say, as migrants and their families are often too scared to come forward, fearing a run-in with the law -- and the transience of people on the move makes it doubly difficult for them to seek help.\u00a0 \n\n'No entry zone' \n\nComplicating their effort is the complete blackout by Lithuanian authorities in the border zone,\u00a0which prevents humanitarian groups and journalists from monitoring the area.\u00a0 \n\n\u201cThe problem is we simply don't know\u201d,\u00a0Vakar\u0117, a volunteer at Sienos Grupe who asked that we not use their full name, told Euronews. \u201cThere\u2019s this entire darkened invisible line that you\u2019re not supposed to go past\u201d. \n\n\u201cNo-one knows what's happening inside\u201d. \n\nPeople crossing the border have also accused Polish border forces of dragging dead bodies to the Belarussian side, who simply bury the remains -- a claim strongly refuted by Poland. \n\n\u201cMigrants are meaningless, faceless people to most, they\u2019re not even [considered as] human,\u201d said Vakar\u0117. \n\n\u201cNobody\u2019s very passionate about making sure their bodies aren't left to rot in the forest\u201d. \n\nKnown as Europe\u2019s forgotten migration crisis , Lithuania, Poland and Belarus have pushed migrants back and forth across each other\u2019s frontiers since 2020, in a situation likened to ping-pong. \n\nVilnius and Brussels accuse Minsk of weaponising migration -\u2013 inundating the EU\u2019s border with migrants as a form of hybrid warfare \u2013 while Lithuanian border guards have been repeatedly accused of violently pushing migrants back into Belarus. \n\nIn the meantime, people suffer. \n\nThe border area is a dank, dark forest, filled with swamps, that is regularly buffeted by tough weather conditions, and subzero temperatures in winter. \n\nMeanwhile, migrants -- mostly coming from the Middle East, Africa or Asia -- often don't know how brutal winter conditions can be in the region, arriving without proper clothing or supplies. \n\nBelarus has even been accused of pushing some migrants across the Lithuania border barefoot.\u00a0 \n\n\"They don't understand what harsh winters we have here,\"\u00a0 explained Vakar\u0117.\u00a0 \n\n\"Everything is cold, slippery and dangerous. If you get injured, even if it's just a small one, it can mean you are completely unable to cope\u201d. \n\n\"People can get in trouble very fast.\" \n\nAt least three migrants have lost their legs to frostbite in recent months, with many more suffering debilitating injuries to their hands and feet that will be with them forever. \n\nIn January, Sienos Groupe identified the body of one migrant, who was found dead in a river by a nature watcher in August, after receiving desperate messages from his wife in Sri Lanka. \n\nIt was what the NGO said they \u201cfeared would come true\u201d: the first confirmed case of a migrant dying in Lithuanian territory. \n\nIn a statement, a spokesperson for Lithuania's Interior Ministry told Euronews authorities have \"no data regarding dead migrants\" at the border with Belarus. \n\nThey said the body found in the Neris river was of a Sri Lankan national, but did not confirm whether they were an \"irregular migrant\". \n\nAn investigation is ongoing. \n\n'Agonising' \n\nFor those who have lost loved ones, the uncertainty is agonising. \n\n\u201cAs a family, my brother's disappearance has left us feeling destroyed, and completely shattered,\u201d said one relative of a missing person, who wished to stay anonymous for privacy reasons.\u00a0\u201cWe do not know what to do to find him\u201d. \n\n\u201cHis wife and two little children in Syria are desperate for some news about him.\u201d \n\nAnother woman was called from her husband's phone by the Lithuanian Border Guard in June, who ominously said they'd found his suitcase and valuables strewn in the forest. \n\nDuring the border crossing, the man reportedly told his companions to leave him behind and that he wanted to call the border guards, as a pain in his foot made walking unbearable. \n\nHis whereabouts remain unknown. \n\n\u201cEvery single day I get a message about a new missing person,\u201d said Vakar\u0117. \u201cWe don't have answers for these people. We don't have bodies. We don't have their stories.\u201d \n\nIn January, Lithuania\u2019s government approved controversial legislation to formalise pushbacks as an official policy. \n\nIt claims the exceptional situation on the border with Belarus justifies the law, though critics have pointed out it violates international law by denying people the right to asylum. \n\n\u201cEvery single death is a fault of their policy,\u201d Vakar\u0117 said. \u201cThe state pretends the bodies aren't there, that they are humane and doing everything they can, but it's still a spot of dirt on their reputation\u201d. \n\n\u201cThe bodies are very, very visible proof of the failure of the entire strategy.\u201d","htmlText":"<p>The Lithuanian-Belarussian border is littered with the bodies of migrants, who have died trying to enter the EU, human rights groups have alleged.<\/p>\n<p><a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.facebook.com//sienosgrupe///">Sienos Grupe<\/strong><\/a>, a Lithuanian humanitarian organisation, has collected a list of around 30 people, whose families lost contact with them on Europe\u2019s eastern frontier.<\/p>\n<p>The group is working hard to help loved ones find their missing relatives, piecing together information and grimly scouring refugee camps, hospitals and morgues.<\/p>\n<p>Much of what is happening slips under the radar, they say, as migrants and their families are often too scared to come forward, fearing a run-in with the law -- and the transience of people on the move makes it doubly difficult for them to seek help.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><strong>'No entry zone'<\/strong><\/h2><p>Complicating their effort is the complete blackout by Lithuanian authorities in the border zone,\u00a0which prevents humanitarian groups and journalists from monitoring the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe problem is we simply don&#039;t know\u201d,\u00a0Vakar\u0117, a volunteer at Sienos Grupe who asked that we not use their full name, told Euronews. \u201cThere\u2019s this entire darkened invisible line that you\u2019re not supposed to go past\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo-one knows what&#039;s happening inside\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>People crossing the border have also accused Polish border forces of dragging dead bodies to the Belarussian side, who simply bury the remains -- a claim strongly refuted by Poland.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMigrants are meaningless, faceless people to most, they\u2019re not even [considered as] human,\u201d said Vakar\u0117.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNobody\u2019s very passionate about making sure their bodies aren&#039;t left to rot in the forest\u201d.<\/p>\n<div data-oembed-url=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sienosgrupe\/posts\/231256646029788\" class=\"widget widget--type-facebook widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div> <script async=\"1\" defer=\"1\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////connect.facebook.net//fr_FR//sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v15.0\" nonce=\"WKqQUO4d\"><\/script><div class=\"fb-post\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sienosgrupe\/posts\/231256646029788\" data-width=\"552\"><blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/graph.facebook.com\/106402361848551\/posts\/231256646029788\/\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\"><p>Sienos Grup\u0117je \u0161i\u0105 savait\u0119 savanoriauja dvi merginos i\u0161 vienos NVO Olandijoje. Antroji j\u0173 savanoryst\u0117s diena buvo \u0161tai...<\/p>Posted by <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.facebook.com//106402361848551/">Sienos Grup\u0117<\/a> on&nbsp;<a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////graph.facebook.com//106402361848551//posts//231256646029788///">Wednesday, January 11, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><\/div> \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Known as <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//12//22//migrants-lose-legs-to-frostbite-as-winter-complicates-border-crisis/">Europe/u2019s forgotten migration crisis<\/strong><\/a>, Lithuania, Poland and Belarus have pushed migrants back and forth across each other\u2019s frontiers since 2020, in a situation likened to ping-pong.<\/p>\n<p>Vilnius and Brussels accuse Minsk of weaponising migration -\u2013 inundating the EU\u2019s border with migrants as a form of hybrid warfare \u2013 while Lithuanian border guards have been repeatedly accused of violently pushing migrants back into Belarus.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, people suffer.<\/p>\n<p>The border area is a dank, dark forest, filled with swamps, that is regularly buffeted by tough weather conditions, and subzero temperatures in winter.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, migrants -- mostly coming from the Middle East, Africa or Asia -- often don&#039;t know how brutal winter conditions can be in the region, arriving without proper clothing or supplies.<\/p>\n<p>Belarus has even been <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//11//24//barefoot-migrants-pushed-by-belarus-across-lithuanian-border-says-minister/">accused of pushing some migrants<\/strong><\/a> across the Lithuania border barefoot.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"7260874\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//12//22//migrants-lose-legs-to-frostbite-as-winter-complicates-border-crisis/">Lost legs and dashed dreams: Europe's forgotten migration crisis worsens<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\"They don&#039;t understand what harsh winters we have here,\"\u00a0 explained Vakar\u0117.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"Everything is cold, slippery and dangerous. If you get injured, even if it&#039;s just a small one, it can mean you are completely unable to cope\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\"People can get in trouble very fast.\"<\/p>\n<p>At least three migrants have lost their legs to frostbite in recent months, with many more suffering debilitating injuries to their hands and feet that will be with them forever.<\/p>\n<p>In January, Sienos Groupe identified the body of one migrant, who was found dead in a river by a nature watcher in August, after receiving desperate messages from his wife in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n<p>It was what the NGO said they \u201cfeared would come true\u201d: the first confirmed case of a migrant dying in Lithuanian territory.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, a spokesperson for Lithuania&#039;s Interior Ministry told Euronews authorities have \"no data regarding dead migrants\" at the border with Belarus.<\/p>\n<p>They said the body found in the Neris river was of a Sri Lankan national, but did not confirm whether they were an \"irregular migrant\".<\/p>\n<p>An investigation is ongoing.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>'Agonising'<\/strong><\/h2><p>For those who have lost loved ones, the uncertainty is agonising.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a family, my brother&#039;s disappearance has left us feeling destroyed, and completely shattered,\u201d said one relative of a missing person, who wished to stay anonymous for privacy reasons.\u00a0\u201cWe do not know what to do to find him\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis wife and two little children in Syria are desperate for some news about him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another woman was called from her husband&#039;s phone by the Lithuanian Border Guard in June, who ominously said they&#039;d found his suitcase and valuables strewn in the forest.<\/p>\n<p>During the border crossing, the man reportedly told his companions to leave him behind and that he wanted to call the border guards, as a pain in his foot made walking unbearable.<\/p>\n<p>His whereabouts remain unknown.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//32//40//28//808x454_cmsv2_8525bb52-9ede-5505-8041-20bb2d7083f9-7324028.jpg/" alt=\"Senios Grupe\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/32\/40\/28\/384x216_cmsv2_8525bb52-9ede-5505-8041-20bb2d7083f9-7324028.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/32\/40\/28\/640x360_cmsv2_8525bb52-9ede-5505-8041-20bb2d7083f9-7324028.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/32\/40\/28\/750x422_cmsv2_8525bb52-9ede-5505-8041-20bb2d7083f9-7324028.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/32\/40\/28\/828x466_cmsv2_8525bb52-9ede-5505-8041-20bb2d7083f9-7324028.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/32\/40\/28\/1080x608_cmsv2_8525bb52-9ede-5505-8041-20bb2d7083f9-7324028.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/32\/40\/28\/1200x675_cmsv2_8525bb52-9ede-5505-8041-20bb2d7083f9-7324028.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/32\/40\/28\/1920x1080_cmsv2_8525bb52-9ede-5505-8041-20bb2d7083f9-7324028.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Many families try to cross the border, bringing their children with them.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Senios Grupe<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cEvery single day I get a message about a new missing person,\u201d said Vakar\u0117. \u201cWe don&#039;t have answers for these people. We don&#039;t have bodies. We don&#039;t have their stories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In January, Lithuania\u2019s government approved controversial legislation to formalise pushbacks as an official policy.<\/p>\n<p>It claims the exceptional situation on the border with Belarus justifies the law, though critics have pointed out it violates international law by denying people the right to asylum.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery single death is a fault of their policy,\u201d Vakar\u0117 said. \u201cThe state pretends the bodies aren&#039;t there, that they are humane and doing everything they can, but it&#039;s still a spot of dirt on their reputation\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe bodies are very, very visible proof of the failure of the entire strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1674312798,"publishedAt":1674622830,"updatedAt":1674629005,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2023\/01\/25\/there-are-bodies-in-the-forest-missing-migrants-worry-activists-on-lithuania-belarus-borde","programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/32\/40\/28\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_e031ad9c-eb73-571b-8c49-99eca19fa1be-7324028.jpg","altText":"The border area is strewn with old sleeping bags and camping equipment.","caption":"The border area is strewn with old sleeping bags and camping equipment.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Sienos Grupe","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":720},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/32\/40\/28\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_8525bb52-9ede-5505-8041-20bb2d7083f9-7324028.jpg","altText":"Many families try to cross the border, bringing their children with them.","caption":"Many families try to cross the border, bringing their children with them.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Senios Grupe","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":900}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"askew","title":"Joshua Askew","twitter":"@jweaskew"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":23,"slug":"belarus","urlSafeValue":"belarus","title":"Belarus","titleRaw":"Belarus"},{"id":12102,"slug":"migrant-crisis","urlSafeValue":"migrant-crisis","title":"Migrant Crisis","titleRaw":"Migrant 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pipeline explodes in Lithuania on day marking independence struggle from USSR","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Gas pipeline explodes in Lithuania on day marking USSR independence","titleListing2":"Gas pipeline explodes in Lithuania on day marking independence struggle from USSR","leadin":"250 people have been told to evacuate from a village in northern Lithuania, according to the country's media.","summary":"250 people have been told to evacuate from a village in northern Lithuania, according to the country's media.","keySentence":null,"url":"gas-pipeline-explodes-in-lithuania-on-day-marking-independence-struggle-from-ussr","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"A gas pipeline has exploded in Lithuania, according to officials, as the country marks a historic day in its struggle for independence from the USSR.\u00a0 \n\nLRT, Lithuania's public broadcaster, reported that there were no injuries from the blast in the centre of the country, but that flames shot up 50 metres high.\u00a0 \n\nSome 250 people from a nearby village were being evacuated from the village of\u00a0Pasvalio Vienkiemiai, after the explosion at around 17:00 local time in the District of Pasvalys.\u00a0 Authorities said this was a precautionary measure. \n\nToday, Lithuania marks the Day of Freedom Defenders to honour those who were killed by Soviet troops on 13 January 1991 in the capital Vilnius, as the country broke away from the USSR.\u00a0 \n\nFourteen people died and hundreds were injured defending the TV tower, as Russian troops tried to topple the new Lithuanian government that had declared independence the year before in 1990.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\n\nThe blast occurred on a main Amber Grid gas pipeline. \n\n\u201cWe immediately started to investigate the circumstances of the incident and ensure gas supply to consumers,\u201d Nemunas Biknius, Amber Grid CEO said in a statement. \n\n\"According to the initial assessment, we do not see any malign cause, but the investigation will cover all possible options,\" he told a new conference.\u00a0 \n\nGas supplies through the damaged pipeline, which serves northern Lithuania and Baltic neighbour Lativa, in the area were immediately halted. \n\nFurther disruptions to energy supplies are expected, though Latvia said it had not been affected so far. \n\n\u201cThere were unexpected sounds, it seemed as if planes were flying somewhere low \u2013 a high-pressure gas pipeline exploded on the side of Valak\u0117liai, on the Pasvalys-\u0160iauliai road, a couple of kilometres from Pasvalys,\" said\u00a0District Mayor Gintautas Gegu\u017einskas.\u00a0 \n\n\n\"The flames are shooting up to a high altitude,\" he added.\u00a0 \n\nAccording to the Baltic News Service, the pipeline carries natural gas from Klaipeda in eastern Lithuania to Latvia. Klaipeda sits on the Baltic Sea and is the only major seaport in Lithuania. \n\nRaimonds Cudars, the energy minister in neighbouring Latvia, said the explosion in Lithuania has not caused problems with natural gas supplies in Latvia. \n\nCudars had been informed that the reason for the explosion was a technical accident. \n\n\nLithuania, like war-torn Ukraine, borders Russia. It is situated on the Baltic Sea where the Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream gas pipelines were destroyed by explosions last year. \n\n\nFirefighters rushed to the scene and flames lit up the dark Lithuanian sky and were visible several kilometres away as the gas remaining in the pipe continued to burn Friday evening.","htmlText":"<p>A gas pipeline has exploded in Lithuania, according to officials, as the country marks a historic day in its struggle for independence from the USSR.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>LRT, Lithuania&#039;s public broadcaster, reported that there were no injuries from the blast in the centre of the country, but that flames shot up 50 metres high.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Some 250 people from a nearby village were being evacuated from the village of\u00a0Pasvalio Vienkiemiai, after the explosion at around 17:00 local time in the District of Pasvalys.\u00a0Authorities said this was a precautionary measure.<\/p>\n<p>Today, Lithuania marks the Day of Freedom Defenders to honour those who were killed by Soviet troops on 13 January 1991 in the capital Vilnius, as the country broke away from the USSR.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fourteen people died and hundreds were injured defending the TV tower, as Russian troops tried to topple the new Lithuanian government that had declared independence the year before in 1990.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>The blast occurred on a main Amber Grid gas pipeline.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe immediately started to investigate the circumstances of the incident and ensure gas supply to consumers,\u201d Nemunas Biknius, Amber Grid CEO said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\"According to the initial assessment, we do not see any malign cause, but the investigation will cover all possible options,\" he told a new conference.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div data-oembed-url=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gintautas.geguzinskas.5\/posts\/5844528568995839\" class=\"widget widget--type-facebook widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div> <script async=\"1\" defer=\"1\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////connect.facebook.net//fr_FR//sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v15.0\" nonce=\"tdyyHRPB\"><\/script><div class=\"fb-post\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gintautas.geguzinskas.5\/posts\/5844528568995839\" data-width=\"552\"><blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/graph.facebook.com\/100003162613208\/posts\/5844528568995839\/\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\"><p>Pasvalio rajone prie Valak\u0117li\u0173 sprogo auk\u0161to sl\u0117gio dujotiekis. Tai greta kelio Pasvalys - \u0160iauliai. Dirba specialiosios tarnybos.<\/p>Posted by <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.facebook.com//gintautas.geguzinskas.5/">Gintautas Geguzinskas<\/a> on&nbsp;<a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////graph.facebook.com//100003162613208//posts//5844528568995839///">Friday, January 13, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><\/div> \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Gas supplies through the damaged pipeline, which serves northern Lithuania and Baltic neighbour Lativa, in the area were immediately halted.<\/p>\n<p>Further disruptions to energy supplies are expected, though Latvia said it had not been affected so far.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were unexpected sounds, it seemed as if planes were flying somewhere low \u2013 a high-pressure gas pipeline exploded on the side of Valak\u0117liai, on the Pasvalys-\u0160iauliai road, a couple of kilometres from Pasvalys,\" said\u00a0District Mayor Gintautas Gegu\u017einskas.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>\"The flames are shooting up to a high altitude,\" he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>According to the Baltic News Service, the pipeline carries natural gas from Klaipeda in eastern Lithuania to Latvia. Klaipeda sits on the Baltic Sea and is the only major seaport in Lithuania.<\/p>\n<p>Raimonds Cudars, the energy minister in neighbouring Latvia, said the explosion in Lithuania has not caused problems with natural gas supplies in Latvia.<\/p>\n<p>Cudars had been informed that the reason for the explosion was a technical accident. <\/p>\n<p>Lithuania, like war-torn Ukraine, borders Russia. It is situated on the Baltic Sea where the Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream gas pipelines were destroyed by explosions last year. <\/p>\n<p>Firefighters rushed to the scene and flames lit up the dark Lithuanian sky and were visible several kilometres away as the gas remaining in the pipe continued to burn Friday evening.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1673636184,"publishedAt":1673638396,"updatedAt":1673638399,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2023\/01\/13\/gas-pipeline-explodes-in-lithuania-on-day-marking-independence-struggle-from-ussr","programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/30\/53\/02\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_9fd0ea45-d301-5032-be43-0f7a89e38bdc-7305302.jpg","altText":"Flames rose 50 metres into the sky.","caption":"Flames rose 50 metres into the sky.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":12764,"slug":"energy","urlSafeValue":"energy","title":"Energy","titleRaw":"Energy"},{"id":27580,"slug":"gas-pipeline","urlSafeValue":"gas-pipeline","title":"Gas pipeline","titleRaw":"Gas pipeline"},{"id":10789,"slug":"gas-explosion","urlSafeValue":"gas-explosion","title":"Gas explosion","titleRaw":"Gas explosion"},{"id":167,"slug":"latvia","urlSafeValue":"latvia","title":"Latvia","titleRaw":"Latvia"}],"related":[{"id":2173750}],"technicalTags":[],"widgets":[{"slug":"facebook","count":1}],"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":{"quotation":null,"description":null,"author":null},"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":null,"contentType":null,"displayOverlay":0},"displayType":"default","video":0,"videos":[],"externalPartners":[],"liveStream":[],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":"AFP\/AP","additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":"Euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"world 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launches major campaign to boost emergency preparedness","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Lithuania launches major campaign to boost emergency preparedness","titleListing2":"Lithuania has launched a major drive to improve its emergency procedures after a recent survey revealed only 50% of citizens would know how to react in a crisis.","leadin":"According to the Lithuanian Interior Minister, civil safety has been neglected while threats to the country have increased.","summary":"According to the Lithuanian Interior Minister, civil safety has been neglected while threats to the country have increased.","keySentence":null,"url":"lithuania-launches-major-campaign-to-boost-emergency-preparedness","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Lithuania has launched an information campaign to prepare its citizens in the event of an emergency.\u00a0 \n\nIt follows a recent survey commissioned by the government that showed only 18% of residents possess an emergency bag, while only 15% have discussed their family's disaster plan with their relatives. \n\nAccording to Lithuania's interior minister, civil safety has been neglected while threats to the country have increased. \n\n\u201cThe Covid-19 pandemic, illegal migration, Russia's war against Ukraine, the unpredictability of our neighbour Belarus and the Astravets nuclear power plant near Vilnius -- these are the challenges we have faced one after the other,\u201d explained Agne Bilotaite.\u00a0 \n\nAs a result, concert halls and dance studios at the M. K. Ciurlionis School of Art\u00a0in Vilnius have been chosen to serve as shelters should an emergency arise.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\n\u201cAs a building of collective safety, we can receive about 2,000 people for the short term. As a building of serious protection or shelter, we can receive around 180 to 200 people,\u201d explained Dainius Numgaudis, Director of the school. \n\nWhile preparing shelters is one way of improving the country's preparedness, it is not enough to keep people safe.\u00a0Just half of Lithuanians say they would know how to react in an emergency situation. The country's Interior Ministry says the data is worrying. \n\n\u201cHalf of Lithuania\u2019s residents know how to behave in case of an emergency situation. But if we go deeper, only 9% of residents know exactly how to behave, while 41% think that they know,\u201d revealed Lithuania's Interior Minister Egle Vileikiene. \n\nThe Interior Ministry has modernised the website, and warning systems, and has looked at how to better signpost emergency shelters.\u00a0Lithuania is also keeping a close eye on possible threats posed by the Astravets nuclear plant in nearby Belarus -- a close ally of Russia.","htmlText":"<p>Lithuania has launched an information campaign to prepare its citizens in the event of an emergency.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It follows a recent survey commissioned by the government that showed only 18% of residents possess an emergency bag, while only 15% have discussed their family&#039;s disaster plan with their relatives.<\/p>\n<p>According to Lithuania&#039;s interior minister, civil safety has been neglected while threats to the country have increased.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Covid-19 pandemic, illegal migration, Russia&#039;s war against Ukraine, the unpredictability of our neighbour Belarus and the Astravets nuclear power plant near Vilnius -- these are the challenges we have faced one after the other,\u201d explained Agne Bilotaite.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"7242344,7224686\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//12//10//third-migrant-loses-leg-to-frostbite-at-lithuania-belarus-border-reports/">Third migrant loses leg to frostbite at Lithuania-Belarus border: Reports<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//12//02//row-breaks-out-as-vilnius-tears-down-stalin-era-ww2-memorial/">Row breaks out as Vilnius tears down Stalin-era WW2 memorial<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>As a result, concert halls and dance studios at the M. K. Ciurlionis School of Art\u00a0in Vilnius have been chosen to serve as shelters should an emergency arise.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a building of collective safety, we can receive about 2,000 people for the short term. As a building of serious protection or shelter, we can receive around 180 to 200 people,\u201d explained Dainius Numgaudis, Director of the school.<\/p>\n<p>While preparing shelters is one way of improving the country&#039;s preparedness, it is not enough to keep people safe.\u00a0Just half of Lithuanians say they would know how to react in an emergency situation. The country&#039;s Interior Ministry says the data is worrying.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6669921875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//29//90//38//808x539_cmsv2_6f085a36-9a2a-5eef-8161-b0be7346dfbf-7299038.jpg/" alt=\"Sergei Grits&#47;Copyright 2020 The AP. All rights reserved.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/29\/90\/38\/384x256_cmsv2_6f085a36-9a2a-5eef-8161-b0be7346dfbf-7299038.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/29\/90\/38\/640x427_cmsv2_6f085a36-9a2a-5eef-8161-b0be7346dfbf-7299038.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/29\/90\/38\/750x500_cmsv2_6f085a36-9a2a-5eef-8161-b0be7346dfbf-7299038.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/29\/90\/38\/828x552_cmsv2_6f085a36-9a2a-5eef-8161-b0be7346dfbf-7299038.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/29\/90\/38\/1080x720_cmsv2_6f085a36-9a2a-5eef-8161-b0be7346dfbf-7299038.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/29\/90\/38\/1200x800_cmsv2_6f085a36-9a2a-5eef-8161-b0be7346dfbf-7299038.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/29\/90\/38\/1920x1281_cmsv2_6f085a36-9a2a-5eef-8161-b0be7346dfbf-7299038.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Belarus&apos;s first nuclear plant, near Astravets, Belarus<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Sergei Grits&#47;Copyright 2020 The AP. All rights reserved.<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cHalf of Lithuania\u2019s residents know how to behave in case of an emergency situation. But if we go deeper, only 9% of residents know exactly how to behave, while 41% think that they know,\u201d revealed Lithuania&#039;s Interior Minister Egle Vileikiene.<\/p>\n<p>The Interior Ministry has modernised the website, and warning systems, and has looked at how to better signpost emergency shelters.\u00a0Lithuania is also keeping a close eye on possible threats posed by the Astravets nuclear plant in nearby Belarus -- a close ally of Russia.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1673384643,"publishedAt":1673430759,"updatedAt":1673430762,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2023\/01\/11\/lithuania-launches-major-campaign-to-boost-emergency-preparedness","programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/29\/90\/48\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_4c1f87b4-4e52-509e-a4b7-837484893118-7299048.jpg","altText":"Lithuania has launched an information campaign to prepare its citizens in the event of emergency situations.","caption":"Lithuania has launched an information campaign to prepare its citizens in the event of emergency situations.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"LTLN via EBU","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/29\/90\/38\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_6f085a36-9a2a-5eef-8161-b0be7346dfbf-7299038.jpg","altText":"Belarus's first nuclear plant, near Astravets, Belarus","caption":"Belarus's first nuclear plant, near Astravets, Belarus","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Sergei Grits\/Copyright 2020 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":23,"slug":"belarus","urlSafeValue":"belarus","title":"Belarus","titleRaw":"Belarus"},{"id":19206,"slug":"nuclear-power-plant","urlSafeValue":"nuclear-power-plant","title":"Nuclear power plant","titleRaw":"Nuclear power plant"},{"id":14074,"slug":"civil-protection","urlSafeValue":"civil-protection","title":"Civil Protection","titleRaw":"Civil Protection"},{"id":244,"slug":"security","urlSafeValue":"security","title":"Security","titleRaw":"Security"},{"id":26692,"slug":"war-in-ukraine","urlSafeValue":"war-in-ukraine","title":"Ukraine war","titleRaw":"Ukraine 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legs and dashed dreams: Europe's forgotten migration crisis worsens","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Lost legs and dashed dreams: Europe's forgotten migrant crisis worsens","titleListing2":"Lost legs and dashed dreams: Europe's forgotten migration crisis","leadin":"At least three migrants have had their legs amputated in recent months after trying to cross the Lithuanian-Belarus border.","summary":"At least three migrants have had their legs amputated in recent months after trying to cross the Lithuanian-Belarus border.","keySentence":null,"url":"migrants-lose-legs-to-frostbite-as-winter-complicates-border-crisis","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Angel* was promised a European education.\u00a0 \n\nHe ended up losing his leg and is now stuck in a foreign land -- far from his friends and family.\u00a0 \n\nFacing ethnic strife and grinding poverty in his native Sri Lanka, the 20-year-old was lured to Belarus by an advert for an international studies programme, offering a trip to Paris. \n\nIt turned out to be fake \u2013 a trap laid by Belarus\u2019s government, he claims \u2013 and the promise of a European visa was actually climbing through a hole in the Lithuania border fence under the moonlight. \n\nDressed only in a summer jacket and cotton shoes, Angel and a few others wandered for days and nights in the wooded border area, buffeted by icy winds and freezing temperatures. \n\nHe eventually made it to Vilnius airport but was detained by Lithuanian border guards, who found his leg riddled with infection, having succumbed to frostbite during the journey.\u00a0 \n\nIt was amputated in hospital days later. \n\nAngel is just one of the victims of Europe\u2019s forgotten migration crisis, which is currently taking place on the region's eastern fringe.\u00a0 \n\nAt least three migrants have lost their legs to frostbite in recent months, with many more suffering debilitating injuries to their hands and feet that will be with them forever. \n\nWhat is causing the border crisis? \n\nA lot of finger-pointing is going on over what\u2019s behind the crisis. \n\nAuthorities in Lithuania \u2013 as well as the EU \u2013 place the blame squarely on the shoulders of Belarus, claiming it has weaponised migrants in retaliation for sanctions slapped on Minsk by the bloc in 2020.\u00a0 \n\n\u201cThe Belarusian regime is the organiser of this ongoing irregular migration crisis,\u201d Lithuania's interior ministry said in a statement sent to Euronews. \n\n\u201cMigrants are being used as a tool to create chaos, not only in our own country or in neighbouring countries, but throughout the European Union.\u201d \n\nThe ministry claimed Belarus is using migration as a \u201cform of hybrid aggression\u201d against Lithuania, which has pushed nearly 11,000 people back across the borders so far this year. \n\nBelarussian officials have been accused of cutting holes in Lithuania\u2019s sprawling razor-wire fence and pushing large groups of migrants through, as well as guiding them to weak spots. \n\nLast month, Lithuanian interior minister\u00a0 Agne Bilotait\u0117 claimed Belarus was sending migrants across the border barefoot and without proper winter clothing in an attempt to ramp up pressure on the Baltic country. She maintained this would not be grounds to be granted entry into Lithuania.\u00a0 \n\nBut Vilnius has not escaped scrutiny.\u00a0 \n\nLithuanian border guards have been repeatedly accused of violently pushing migrants back into Belarus, and worse. \n\nDuring his time in the border area, Angel claims he encountered Lithuanian officials who sent him away without clothing or any kind of assistance, despite their perilous position. \n\nOther reports suggest that even when migrants receive medical assistance in Lithuania they are routinely taken back to Belarus afterwards.\u00a0 \n\nOfficials deny this. \n\n\u201cLithuanian border guards always organise emergency medical assistance to irregular border crossers when needed,\u201d wrote the interior ministry in its statement.\u00a0\u201cForeigners are also given a humanitarian package containing the necessary equipment, dry rations and water, as well as winter footwear and clothing\u201d. \n\n\u201cIf the situation is really serious, the border guards call an ambulance,\u201d it added. \n\n\u2018Ping-pong pushbacks\u2019 \n\nClaiming it is under attack, Lithuania's government has adopted a pushback policy, where migrants are prevented from entering the country or immediately expelled if they managed to break through.\u00a0 \n\nThis has given rise to a phenomenon known as ping-pong pushbacks, where migrants are batted back and forth across the two country\u2019s borders over and over again, at times within the same night.\u00a0 \n\nMany experts have pointed out that this is illegal.\u00a0 \n\n\u201cThis official policy of the government is definitely not in compliance with international human rights or refugee law,\"\u00a0M\u0117ta Adutavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117, head of advocacy at Lithuania's Human Rights Monitoring Institute , told Euronews.\u00a0 \n\nUnder the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights ,\u00a0those arriving in a country have a right to claim asylum, with the country\u2019s authorities then deciding on whether to give them protection or not. \n\nLithuania, an EU member state, is a signatory of this treaty.\u00a0 \n\n\"Even if it's the case [that Belarus is] instrumentalising migration, we still need to look at the human rights aspect and still uphold our international obligations,\" continued\u00a0Adutavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117.\u00a0 \n\n\"People should at least be given the chance to apply for asylum and have their applications duly considered,\" she claimed.\u00a0 \n\nLithuanian officials claim the exceptional situation on their borders, allows them to temporarily suspend certain legal protections.\u00a0 \n\nViewing migrants on Lithuania\u2019s borders as a weapon is having a much wider effect on society.\u00a0 \n\n\u201cWhen the government says the country is under hybrid attack by the Belarussian regime it turns the people who are trying to cross the borders into a threat,\u201d says\u00a0Adutavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117, adding that this \"securitisation\" prevents society from looking at the situation in the border as a \"humanitarian issue\". \n\nNegative attitudes towards refugees and migrants -- bar those from Ukraine -- have grown in Lithuania in recent years, with increasing numbers of Lithuanians associating them with criminality .\u00a0 \n\n\u2018Big humanitarian issue' \n\nMeanwhile, men, women and children find themselves trapped in a brutal no man\u2019s land, often in dire humanitarian need.\u00a0 \n\n\"Pushbacks result in human tragedies, especially in such harsh weather conditions,\"\u00a0Adutavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117 told Euronews. \"Even if it's a response to Belarus's weaponisation of migrants, they put\u00a0people's lives in danger.\"\u00a0 \n\n\"When people are stuck in the forest, they need to decide whether to light the fire and warm themselves up and be spotted ... or stay in the freezing cold. It's definitely a huge humanitarian issue.\u00a0 \n\n\u201cThis cannot continue,\" she added.\u00a0 \n\nAdutavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117 claims that pushbacks are driven by a broader deterrence strategy, the idea that if conditions are made worse enough, and the border crossing made hard enough, people will not make the perilous journey. \n\nBut this assumes migrants voluntarily migrate.\u00a0 \n\n\u201cPeople flee for all kinds of reasons, but usually because they can't stay. People are coming from Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Eritrea and so on.\" \n\nThe three have been blighted by conflict and political instability in recent years, while Eritrea struggles with chronic issues around food, work and a repressive government, which often forces people into open-ended conscription in the military.\u00a0 \n\nMany migrants also say there is a lack of legal routes to enter the EU, with many forms of visa prohibitively expensive, heavily oversubscribed or non-existent. \n\nWhere does responsibility lie for the situation on the Lithuania-Belarus border? \n\nThough there are some who are extending a helping hand. \n\nA group of volunteers \u2013 known as Sienos Grup\u0117 -- provide humanitarian aid to people stuck in the border zone, staying awake through the night so they respond to any distress calls and bring food, warm clothes, sleeping bags, chargers or whatever migrants may need.\u00a0 \n\n\"We as simple volunteers, normal people, we felt from the heart that it is necessary to act,\" said\u00a0Lina \u017demaityt\u0117, a volunteer at the organisation.\u00a0 \n\nOther EU member states and the bloc itself are involved, too. \n\n\"Of course, support in terms of both human resources and technical assistance has been received from many countries and organisations,\" said\u00a0Andrius Jarackas, a spokesman for Lithuania's\u00a0State Border Guard Service, with joint operations coordinated by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.\u00a0 \n\nHe also said that\u00a0Estonia, Poland and Austria had given \"technical support\" to Lithuania on a bilateral basis, while \"most EU member states \"provided support to ensure adequate accommodation conditions for the irregular migrants.\" \n\nIn June, Amnesty International released a report claiming that thousands of people have been arbitrarily detained\u00a0in militarised centres , where they were subjected to inhumane conditions, torture and other ill-treatment. \n\nOther experts claim that the responsibility of the EU for this crisis runs much deeper.\u00a0 \n\nMost migrants \u2013 like Angel \u2013 wanted to go to northern European states, like France or Germany, with Lithuania being just a stop-gap. \n\n\"Responsibility lies first of all with Belarus and, at the same time, with the governments of border countries in how they respond,\u201d said Adutavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117. \"However, there might have been some solutions, like perhaps sharing the burden [across the EU] with a quota system.\" \n\n\"There should be much more effort on the part of the EU to convince the governments of the border states to reconsider their response, taking into account humanitarian and human rights issues. \n\n\"Even in times of emergency,\" she added. \n\n* Angel's name has been changed to protect his identity.","htmlText":"<p>Angel* was promised a European education.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He ended up losing his leg and is now stuck in a foreign land -- far from his friends and family.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Facing ethnic strife and grinding poverty in his native Sri Lanka, the 20-year-old was lured to Belarus by an advert for an international studies programme, offering a trip to Paris.<\/p>\n<p>It turned out to be fake \u2013 a trap laid by Belarus\u2019s government, he claims \u2013 and the promise of a European visa was actually climbing through a hole in the Lithuania border fence under the moonlight.<\/p>\n<p>Dressed only in a summer jacket and cotton shoes, Angel and a few others wandered for days and nights in the wooded border area, buffeted by icy winds and freezing temperatures.<\/p>\n<p>He eventually made it to Vilnius airport but was detained by Lithuanian border guards, who found his leg riddled with infection, having succumbed to frostbite during the journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It was amputated in hospital days later.<\/p>\n<p>Angel is just one of the victims of Europe\u2019s forgotten migration crisis, which is currently taking place on the region&#039;s eastern fringe.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//12//10//third-migrant-loses-leg-to-frostbite-at-lithuania-belarus-border-reports/">At least three migrants<\/strong><\/a> have lost their legs to frostbite in recent months, with many more suffering debilitating injuries to their hands and feet that will be with them forever.<\/p>\n<h2>What is causing the border crisis?<\/h2><p>A lot of finger-pointing is going on over what\u2019s behind the crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities in Lithuania \u2013 as well as the EU \u2013 place the blame squarely on the shoulders of Belarus, claiming it has weaponised migrants in retaliation for sanctions slapped on Minsk by the bloc in 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Belarusian regime is the organiser of this ongoing irregular migration crisis,\u201d Lithuania&#039;s interior ministry said in a statement sent to Euronews.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMigrants are being used as a tool to create chaos, not only in our own country or in neighbouring countries, but throughout the European Union.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The ministry claimed Belarus is using migration as a \u201cform of hybrid aggression\u201d against Lithuania, which has pushed nearly 11,000 people back across the borders so far this year.<\/p>\n<p>Belarussian officials have been <strong><a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////hibridineataka.lrv.lt//en//video//belarusian-officials-organize-the-entry-of-irregular-migrants-into-lithuania-and-damage-the-physical-barrier-on-its-territory/">accused of cutting holes in Lithuania\u2019s sprawling razor-wire fence and pushing large groups of migrants through, as well as guiding them to weak spots.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Lithuanian interior minister\u00a0<a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////twitter.com//ABilotaite/">Agne Bilotait\u0117<\/strong><\/a> claimed Belarus was <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//11//24//barefoot-migrants-pushed-by-belarus-across-lithuanian-border-says-minister/">sending migrants across the border barefoot and without proper winter clothing<\/strong><\/a> in an attempt to ramp up pressure on the Baltic country. She maintained this would not be grounds to be granted entry into Lithuania.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.7527777777777778\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//26//08//74//808x608_cmsv2_5be42d81-3e62-51da-a21f-e816d283216f-7260874.jpg/" alt=\"Lina \u017demaityt\u0117\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/384x289_cmsv2_5be42d81-3e62-51da-a21f-e816d283216f-7260874.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/640x482_cmsv2_5be42d81-3e62-51da-a21f-e816d283216f-7260874.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/750x565_cmsv2_5be42d81-3e62-51da-a21f-e816d283216f-7260874.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/828x623_cmsv2_5be42d81-3e62-51da-a21f-e816d283216f-7260874.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/1080x813_cmsv2_5be42d81-3e62-51da-a21f-e816d283216f-7260874.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/1200x903_cmsv2_5be42d81-3e62-51da-a21f-e816d283216f-7260874.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/1920x1445_cmsv2_5be42d81-3e62-51da-a21f-e816d283216f-7260874.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">People camped out in sub-zero conditions on the Belarussian border.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Lina \u017demaityt\u0117<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>But Vilnius has not escaped scrutiny.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lithuanian border guards have been repeatedly accused of violently pushing migrants back into Belarus, and worse.<\/p>\n<p>During his time in the border area, Angel claims he encountered Lithuanian officials who sent him away without clothing or any kind of assistance, despite their perilous position.<\/p>\n<p>Other reports suggest that even when migrants receive medical assistance in Lithuania they are routinely taken back to Belarus afterwards.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Officials deny this.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLithuanian border guards always organise emergency medical assistance to irregular border crossers when needed,\u201d wrote the interior ministry in its statement.\u00a0\u201cForeigners are also given a humanitarian package containing the necessary equipment, dry rations and water, as well as winter footwear and clothing\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the situation is really serious, the border guards call an ambulance,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Ping-pong pushbacks\u2019<\/h2><p>Claiming it is under attack, Lithuania&#039;s government has adopted a pushback policy, where migrants are prevented from entering the country or immediately expelled if they managed to break through.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This has given rise to a phenomenon known as ping-pong pushbacks, where migrants are batted back and forth across the two country\u2019s borders over and over again, at times within the same night.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Many experts have pointed out that this is illegal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis official policy of the government is definitely not in compliance with international human rights or refugee law,\"\u00a0M\u0117ta Adutavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117, head of advocacy at Lithuania&#039;s <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////hrmi.lt//en///">Human Rights Monitoring Institute<\/strong><\/a>, told Euronews.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Under the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.europarl.europa.eu//about-parliament//en//democracy-and-human-rights//fundamental-rights-in-the-eu//guaranteeing-the-right-to-asylum/">EU Charter of Fundamental Rights<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0those arriving in a country have a right to claim asylum, with the country\u2019s authorities then deciding on whether to give them protection or not.<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania, an EU member state, is a signatory of this treaty.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.75\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//26//08//74//808x608_cmsv2_ed34fc0e-eddb-5ffa-ac31-fdb35190608e-7260874.jpg/" alt=\"Lina \u017demaityt\u0117\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/384x288_cmsv2_ed34fc0e-eddb-5ffa-ac31-fdb35190608e-7260874.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/640x480_cmsv2_ed34fc0e-eddb-5ffa-ac31-fdb35190608e-7260874.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/750x563_cmsv2_ed34fc0e-eddb-5ffa-ac31-fdb35190608e-7260874.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/828x621_cmsv2_ed34fc0e-eddb-5ffa-ac31-fdb35190608e-7260874.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/1080x810_cmsv2_ed34fc0e-eddb-5ffa-ac31-fdb35190608e-7260874.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/1200x900_cmsv2_ed34fc0e-eddb-5ffa-ac31-fdb35190608e-7260874.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/1920x1440_cmsv2_ed34fc0e-eddb-5ffa-ac31-fdb35190608e-7260874.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Children have been documented on the border.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Lina \u017demaityt\u0117<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\"Even if it&#039;s the case [that Belarus is] instrumentalising migration, we still need to look at the human rights aspect and still uphold our international obligations,\" continued\u00a0Adutavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"People should at least be given the chance to apply for asylum and have their applications duly considered,\" she claimed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lithuanian officials claim the exceptional situation on their borders, allows them to temporarily suspend certain legal protections.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Viewing migrants on Lithuania\u2019s borders as a weapon is having a much wider effect on society.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the government says the country is under hybrid attack by the Belarussian regime it turns the people who are trying to cross the borders into a threat,\u201d says\u00a0Adutavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117, adding that this \"securitisation\" prevents society from looking at the situation in the border as a \"humanitarian issue\".<\/p>\n<p>Negative attitudes towards refugees and migrants -- bar those from Ukraine -- have grown in Lithuania in recent years, with <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.lrt.lt//en//news-in-english//19//1103656//lithuanians-grow-more-hostile-towards-refugees-survey-shows/">increasing numbers of Lithuanians associating them with criminality<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Big humanitarian issue'<\/h2><p>Meanwhile, men, women and children find themselves trapped in a brutal no man\u2019s land, often in dire humanitarian need.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"Pushbacks result in human tragedies, especially in such harsh weather conditions,\"\u00a0Adutavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117 told Euronews. \"Even if it&#039;s a response to Belarus&#039;s weaponisation of migrants, they put\u00a0people&#039;s lives in danger.\"\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"When people are stuck in the forest, they need to decide whether to light the fire and warm themselves up and be spotted ... or stay in the freezing cold. It&#039;s definitely a huge humanitarian issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis cannot continue,\" she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6669921875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//26//08//74//808x539_cmsv2_e7cbbd15-2891-5fba-88cb-7306d30dcd5e-7260874.jpg/" alt=\"Mindaugas Kulbis&#47;Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/384x256_cmsv2_e7cbbd15-2891-5fba-88cb-7306d30dcd5e-7260874.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/640x427_cmsv2_e7cbbd15-2891-5fba-88cb-7306d30dcd5e-7260874.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/750x500_cmsv2_e7cbbd15-2891-5fba-88cb-7306d30dcd5e-7260874.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/828x552_cmsv2_e7cbbd15-2891-5fba-88cb-7306d30dcd5e-7260874.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/1080x720_cmsv2_e7cbbd15-2891-5fba-88cb-7306d30dcd5e-7260874.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/1200x800_cmsv2_e7cbbd15-2891-5fba-88cb-7306d30dcd5e-7260874.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/1920x1281_cmsv2_e7cbbd15-2891-5fba-88cb-7306d30dcd5e-7260874.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Lithuanian Border Management near the village Kurmelionys, some 40km (24 miles) east of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Mindaugas Kulbis&#47;Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Adutavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117 claims that pushbacks are driven by a broader deterrence strategy, the idea that if conditions are made worse enough, and the border crossing made hard enough, people will not make the perilous journey.<\/p>\n<p>But this assumes migrants voluntarily migrate.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople flee for all kinds of reasons, but usually because they can&#039;t stay. People are coming from Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Eritrea and so on.\"<\/p>\n<p>The three have been blighted by conflict and political instability in recent years, while Eritrea struggles with chronic issues around food, work and a repressive government, which often forces people into open-ended conscription in the military.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Many migrants also say there is a lack of legal routes to enter the EU, with many forms of visa prohibitively expensive, heavily oversubscribed or non-existent.<\/p>\n<h2>Where does responsibility lie for the situation on the Lithuania-Belarus border?<\/h2><p>Though there are some who are extending a helping hand.<\/p>\n<p>A group of volunteers \u2013 known as Sienos Grup\u0117 -- provide humanitarian aid to people stuck in the border zone, staying awake through the night so they respond to any distress calls and bring food, warm clothes, sleeping bags, chargers or whatever migrants may need.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"We as simple volunteers, normal people, we felt from the heart that it is necessary to act,\" said\u00a0Lina \u017demaityt\u0117, a volunteer at the organisation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Other EU member states and the bloc itself are involved, too.<\/p>\n<p>\"Of course, support in terms of both human resources and technical assistance has been received from many countries and organisations,\" said\u00a0Andrius Jarackas, a spokesman for Lithuania&#039;s\u00a0State Border Guard Service, with joint operations coordinated by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-xlarge widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"1.3333333333333333\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//26//08//74//606x808_cmsv2_f7d975dc-b911-54fe-8d69-2c758b31737d-7260874.jpg/" alt=\"Lina \u017demaityt\u0117\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/384x512_cmsv2_f7d975dc-b911-54fe-8d69-2c758b31737d-7260874.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/640x853_cmsv2_f7d975dc-b911-54fe-8d69-2c758b31737d-7260874.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/750x1000_cmsv2_f7d975dc-b911-54fe-8d69-2c758b31737d-7260874.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/828x1104_cmsv2_f7d975dc-b911-54fe-8d69-2c758b31737d-7260874.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/1080x1440_cmsv2_f7d975dc-b911-54fe-8d69-2c758b31737d-7260874.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/1200x1600_cmsv2_f7d975dc-b911-54fe-8d69-2c758b31737d-7260874.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/1920x2560_cmsv2_f7d975dc-b911-54fe-8d69-2c758b31737d-7260874.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 45vw, 550px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Lina and her fellow volunteers patrol the border on a nightly basis, though they say things have clamed down a bit.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Lina \u017demaityt\u0117<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>He also said that\u00a0Estonia, Poland and Austria had given \"technical support\" to Lithuania on a bilateral basis, while \"most EU member states \"provided support to ensure adequate accommodation conditions for the irregular migrants.\"<\/p>\n<p>In June, Amnesty International released a report claiming that thousands of people have been <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.amnesty.org//en//latest//news//2022//06//lithuania-pushbacks-illegal-detention-deception-and-abuses-against-refugees-and-migrants///">arbitrarily detained\u00a0in militarised centres<\/strong><\/a>, where they were subjected to inhumane conditions, torture and other ill-treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Other experts claim that the responsibility of the EU for this crisis runs much deeper.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Most migrants \u2013 like Angel \u2013 wanted to go to northern European states, like France or Germany, with Lithuania being just a stop-gap.<\/p>\n<p>\"Responsibility lies first of all with Belarus and, at the same time, with the governments of border countries in how they respond,\u201d said Adutavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117. \"However, there might have been some solutions, like perhaps sharing the burden [across the EU] with a quota system.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"There should be much more effort on the part of the EU to convince the governments of the border states to reconsider their response, taking into account humanitarian and human rights issues.<\/p>\n<p>\"Even in times of emergency,\" she added.<\/p>\n<p><em>* Angel&#039;s name has been changed to protect his identity.<\/em><\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1671547418,"publishedAt":1671701775,"updatedAt":1674380976,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2022\/12\/22\/migrants-lose-legs-to-frostbite-as-winter-complicates-border-crisis","programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/21\/33\/18\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_224a79f7-23a4-58d5-b58b-a7152a92a265-7213318.jpg","altText":"A migrant holds his child at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021.","caption":"A migrant holds his child at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Leonid Shcheglov\/BelTA","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_f819c582-eabc-5751-bd87-6861e39ce300-7260874.jpg","altText":"Children look out from a tent as migrants gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.","caption":"Children look out from a tent as migrants gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Leonid Shcheglov\/BelTA","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_f7d975dc-b911-54fe-8d69-2c758b31737d-7260874.jpg","altText":"Lina and her fellow volunteers patrol the border on a nightly basis, though they say things have clamed down a bit.","caption":"Lina and her fellow volunteers patrol the border on a nightly basis, though they say things have clamed down a bit.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Lina \u017demaityt\u0117","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1200,"height":1600},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_e7cbbd15-2891-5fba-88cb-7306d30dcd5e-7260874.jpg","altText":"Lithuanian Border Management near the village Kurmelionys, some 40km (24 miles) east of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.","caption":"Lithuanian Border Management near the village Kurmelionys, some 40km (24 miles) east of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Mindaugas Kulbis\/Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_ed34fc0e-eddb-5ffa-ac31-fdb35190608e-7260874.jpg","altText":"Children have been documented on the border.","caption":"Children have been documented on the border.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Lina \u017demaityt\u0117","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1080,"height":810},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/26\/08\/74\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_5be42d81-3e62-51da-a21f-e816d283216f-7260874.jpg","altText":"People camped out in sub-zero conditions on the Belarussian border.","caption":"People camped out in sub-zero conditions on the Belarussian border.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Lina \u017demaityt\u0117","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1080,"height":813}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"askew","title":"Joshua Askew","twitter":"@jweaskew"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":13450,"slug":"migration","urlSafeValue":"migration","title":"migration","titleRaw":"migration"},{"id":14896,"slug":"multeci-krizi","urlSafeValue":"multeci-krizi","title":"Refugee crisis","titleRaw":"Refugee crisis"},{"id":13030,"slug":"frontieres","urlSafeValue":"frontieres","title":"borders","titleRaw":"borders"},{"id":9419,"slug":"humanitarian-crisis","urlSafeValue":"humanitarian-crisis","title":"Humanitarian crisis","titleRaw":"Humanitarian crisis"}],"related":[],"technicalTags":[],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":4}],"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":{"quotation":null,"description":null,"author":null},"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":null,"contentType":null,"displayOverlay":0},"displayType":"default","video":0,"videos":[],"externalPartners":[],"liveStream":[],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"world 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war: Lithuanians turn used car parts into stoves to help warm Ukrainians","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Lithuanians turn used car parts into stoves to help warm Ukrainians","titleListing2":"Lithuanians turn used car parts into stoves to help warm Ukrainians","leadin":"It comes amid frequent energy blackouts in Ukraine as Russian forces target the country's energy infrastructure ahead of winter.","summary":"It comes amid frequent energy blackouts in Ukraine as Russian forces target the country's energy infrastructure ahead of winter.","keySentence":null,"url":"ukraine-war-lithuanians-turn-used-car-parts-into-stoves-to-help-warm-ukrainians","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"A Lithuanian company is turning used car parts into stoves in a drive to try and help Ukrainians facing freezing temperatures and energy blackouts.\u00a0 \n\nOnce a week, a few dozen Kalvis' employees -- one of the largest metal processing companies in the Baltic country -- gather in the firm's workshop to turn old wheel rims into small stoves that will be ultimately shipped to Ukraine. \n\n\nThe war and Russia's bombing of Ukraine's energy infrastructure in recent weeks have sparked fears Ukrainians will be forced to freeze or flee this winter. \n\nEach stove, which includes two chambers for firewood and ash, is made of three rims stacked on top of each other and is supported by metal legs. According to craftsman and project co-author Rokas Utakis, the stove can also be used as a dryer or a heater, depending on necessity. \n\n\nUtakis said that craftsmen have been staying overtime to work on the project, and have been joined by residents happy to lend a hand and help Ukrainians. \n\n\"It's nice to work with such an enthusiastic group of people,\" Utakis said. \"The emotions [...] of people enjoying the stoves make up for the fatigue you experience making them.\" \n\nThe stove will allow Ukrainians, both in the cities and on the frontline, to dry their clothes, warm up their hands and make tea -- even if they're suddenly cut off from the country's power grid. \n\nKalvis has already produced nearly 100 stoves, half of which have already been sent to Ukraine in places like Bakhmut and Izium. Some 20 stoves were sent to a military unit which sent a thank-you letter back to the company, according to LRT. \n\nThe initiative has rapidly spread, with Lithuanians sending their old wheel rims to the company to help make more stoves and collection points being set up all over the country. The mayor of\u00a0\u0160iauliai, the northern city where Kalvis is headquartered, visited the workshop to give his blessing to the project. \n\nLithuania, together with the other two Baltic states, has harshly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has been at the forefront of calls to hold Moscow accountable for violating the neighbouring country's sovereignty.","htmlText":"<p>A Lithuanian company is turning used car parts into stoves in a drive to try and help Ukrainians facing freezing temperatures and energy blackouts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Once a week, a few dozen Kalvis&#039; employees -- one of the largest metal processing companies in the Baltic country -- gather in the firm&#039;s workshop to turn old wheel rims into small stoves that will be ultimately shipped to Ukraine. <\/p>\n<p>The war and Russia&#039;s bombing of Ukraine&#039;s energy infrastructure in recent weeks have sparked fears Ukrainians will be forced to freeze or flee this winter.<\/p>\n<p>Each stove, which includes two chambers for firewood and ash, is made of three rims stacked on top of each other and is supported by metal legs. According to craftsman and project co-author Rokas Utakis, the stove can also be used as a dryer or a heater, depending on necessity. <\/p>\n<p>Utakis said that craftsmen have been staying overtime to work on the project, and have been joined by residents happy to lend a hand and help Ukrainians.<\/p>\n<p>\"It&#039;s nice to work with such an enthusiastic group of people,\" Utakis said. \"The emotions [...] of people enjoying the stoves make up for the fatigue you experience making them.\"<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//25//18//94//808x454_cmsv2_811da592-3480-5352-a7e9-2aac924c15ac-7251894.jpg/" alt=\"PETRAS MALUKAS&#47;AFP\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/25\/18\/94\/384x216_cmsv2_811da592-3480-5352-a7e9-2aac924c15ac-7251894.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/25\/18\/94\/640x360_cmsv2_811da592-3480-5352-a7e9-2aac924c15ac-7251894.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/25\/18\/94\/750x422_cmsv2_811da592-3480-5352-a7e9-2aac924c15ac-7251894.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/25\/18\/94\/828x466_cmsv2_811da592-3480-5352-a7e9-2aac924c15ac-7251894.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/25\/18\/94\/1080x608_cmsv2_811da592-3480-5352-a7e9-2aac924c15ac-7251894.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/25\/18\/94\/1200x675_cmsv2_811da592-3480-5352-a7e9-2aac924c15ac-7251894.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/25\/18\/94\/1920x1080_cmsv2_811da592-3480-5352-a7e9-2aac924c15ac-7251894.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">the Lithuanian metal processing company has been turning used car parts into small stoves to keep war-torn Ukraine warm.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">PETRAS MALUKAS&#47;AFP<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The stove will allow Ukrainians, both in the cities and on the frontline, to dry their clothes, warm up their hands and make tea -- even if they&#039;re suddenly cut off from the country&#039;s power grid.<\/p>\n<p>Kalvis has already produced nearly 100 stoves, half of which have already been sent to Ukraine in places like Bakhmut and Izium. Some 20 stoves were sent to a military unit which sent a thank-you letter back to the company, according to LRT.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"7251468,7250790\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//12//15//two-dead-after-russian-strike-on-kherson-says-zelenskyy-aide/">Ukraine war: 'Deadly strike' in Kherson and Vatican apology<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//12//15//war-in-ukraine-kremlin-says-christmas-ceasefire-is-not-being-discussed/">War in Ukraine: Kremlin says Christmas ceasefire is not being discussed<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The initiative has rapidly spread, with <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.facebook.com//viaceslavas.mickevicius//videos//538020521541061/">Lithuanians sending their old wheel rims<\/strong><\/a> to the company to help make more stoves and collection points being set up all over the country. The mayor of\u00a0\u0160iauliai, the northern city where Kalvis is headquartered, visited the workshop to give his blessing to the project.<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania, together with the other two Baltic states, has harshly condemned Russia&#039;s invasion of Ukraine and has been at the forefront of calls to hold Moscow accountable for violating the neighbouring country&#039;s sovereignty.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1671113866,"publishedAt":1671117979,"updatedAt":1671117981,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2022\/12\/15\/ukraine-war-lithuanians-turn-used-car-parts-into-stoves-to-help-warm-ukrainians","programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/25\/18\/94\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_2b6934a4-b263-5fff-9e4a-111218b204f1-7251894.jpg","altText":"A worker of Lithuanian metal processing company 'Kalvis' welds old wheel rims to create heating stoves for Ukrainian civilians and soldiers in Siauliai, Lithuania.","caption":"A worker of Lithuanian metal processing company 'Kalvis' welds old wheel rims to create heating stoves for Ukrainian civilians and soldiers in Siauliai, Lithuania.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"PETRAS MALUKAS\/AFP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":900},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/25\/18\/94\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_811da592-3480-5352-a7e9-2aac924c15ac-7251894.jpg","altText":" the Lithuanian metal processing company has been turning used car parts into small stoves to keep war-torn Ukraine warm.","caption":" the Lithuanian metal processing company has been turning used car parts into small stoves to keep war-torn Ukraine warm.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AFP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":900}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":288,"slug":"ukraine","urlSafeValue":"ukraine","title":"Ukraine","titleRaw":"Ukraine"},{"id":26698,"slug":"russia-ukraine-invasion","urlSafeValue":"russia-ukraine-invasion","title":"Russia-Ukraine invasion","titleRaw":"Russia-Ukraine invasion"},{"id":13008,"slug":"power-outage","urlSafeValue":"power-outage","title":"power outage","titleRaw":"power 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news","online":1,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"isDfp":0,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":""},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":174,"urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","url":"\/news\/europe\/lithuania"},"town":[],"versions":[],"path":"\/2022\/12\/15\/ukraine-war-lithuanians-turn-used-car-parts-into-stoves-to-help-warm-ukrainians","lastModified":1671117981},{"id":2146124,"cid":7242344,"versionId":3,"archive":0,"housenumber":"221210_NWSU_49479300","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"grapeshot":"'neg_facebook_2021','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_ukraine-russia','pos_ukrainecrisis','gs_health','gv_death_injury','gs_health_misc','gs_society','neg_mobkoi_castrol','neg_facebook_q4','neg_bucherer','neg_intel_en','gb_sensitive_news-ent','castrol_negative_uk','gt_negative','gs_politics_misc','gs_society_misc','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_busfin','gb_death_injury_edu'","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Third migrant loses leg to frostbite at Lithuania-Belarus border: Reports","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Third migrant loses leg to frostbite at Lithuanian border: Reports","titleListing2":"Third migrant loses leg to frostbite at Lithuania-Belarus border: Reports","leadin":"Earlier in November, two young Sri Lankan men had to have their legs amputated due to frostbite.","summary":"Earlier in November, two young Sri Lankan men had to have their legs amputated due to frostbite.","keySentence":null,"url":"third-migrant-loses-leg-to-frostbite-at-lithuania-belarus-border-reports","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Another migrant has lost their leg to frostbite after being pushed across the Lithuanian border from Belarus, according to Lithuania's public broadcaster.\u00a0 \n\nAn Egyptian national had to have his leg amputated at a hospital in Lithuania on Thursday because of prolonged exposure to wet and cold conditions, LRT reported on Friday.\u00a0 \n\nThis is the third case this year, with two Sri Lankan men reportedly losing their legs to frostbite last month after being trapped in A sub-zero no-man's land between Belarus and Lithuania.\u00a0 \n\nAmid a geo-political spat between the two that started in 2021, Lithuania has accused Belarus of pushing migrants across the border -- at times barefoot -- in an attempt to exert pressure on the country.\u00a0 \n\nLithuania, for its part, has been accused of pushing the migrants -- who are predominantly from the Middle East and South East Asia -- back into Belarussian territory, in a situation likened to ping pong.\u00a0 \n\nThis created a humanitarian crisis on the borders of the two countries, with men, women and children camped out in freezing conditions in limbo, with neither country taking responsibility.\u00a0 \n\n\u201cTwo Egyptians are currently in hospital,\"\u00a0Red Cross spokesperson Luka Lesauskait\u0117 was quoted as saying by LRT.\u00a0 \n\n\"One man is in a very difficult situation, he is in great shock. The doctors told him that part of his leg had to be removed, and he was very resistant, he did not want to do it,\u201d she added.\u00a0 \n\nIt is not clear if there are other migrants in serious condition on the border, with the\u00a0Lesauskait\u0117 saying her humanitarian organisation did not have this information.\u00a0 \n\nShe said the Red Cross is informed about migrants with health problems when they apply for aslyum.\u00a0 \n\nAccording to the Lithuanian border guard, migrants were taken to hospital 30 times between July and December, while a medic was called 40 times to assist them on the spot.\u00a0 \n\nLithuanian Interior Minster Agne Bilotait\u0117 told reporters in November that Belarus was sending migrants across the border without shoes and winter clothes.\u00a0 \n\nBut she added this would not be grounds to grant these individuals asylum.\u00a0 \n\nThe EU has accused Minsk of engineering a crisis on the bloc's eastern border in retaliation for EU sanctions slapped on Belarus after it intercepted a passenger plane bound for Lithuania carrying a Belarussian opposition activist.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\nLithuanian border forces have been accused of repeatedly pushing back migrants trying to cross its border with Belarus, often violently. \n\nOnce on the other side, Belarussian authorities typically force them back again. Videos circulating online show them cutting holes in Lithuania's border fence and channelling migrants through certain points.\u00a0 \n\nLithuania is not the only country grappling with Belarus's instrumentalisation of migration. Latvia and Poland have had migrants pushed into their borders as well by MInsk.\u00a0 \n\nSeveral migrants have died in Poland and Belarus, though no deaths have been recorded in the Baltic states.","htmlText":"<p>Another migrant has lost their leg to frostbite after being pushed across the Lithuanian border from Belarus, according to Lithuania&#039;s public broadcaster.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>An Egyptian national had to have his leg amputated at a hospital in Lithuania on Thursday because of prolonged exposure to wet and cold conditions, LRT reported on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is the third case this year, with two Sri Lankan men reportedly losing their legs to frostbite last month after being trapped in A sub-zero no-man&#039;s land between Belarus and Lithuania.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Amid a geo-political spat between the two that started in 2021, Lithuania has accused Belarus of pushing migrants across the border -- at times barefoot -- in an attempt to exert pressure on the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania, for its part, has been accused of pushing the migrants -- who are predominantly from the Middle East and South East Asia -- back into Belarussian territory, in a situation likened to ping pong.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This created a humanitarian crisis on the borders of the two countries, with men, women and children camped out in freezing conditions in limbo, with neither country taking responsibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo Egyptians are currently in hospital,\"\u00a0Red Cross spokesperson Luka Lesauskait\u0117 was quoted as saying by LRT.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"One man is in a very difficult situation, he is in great shock. The doctors told him that part of his leg had to be removed, and he was very resistant, he did not want to do it,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It is not clear if there are other migrants in serious condition on the border, with the\u00a0Lesauskait\u0117 saying her humanitarian organisation did not have this information.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She said the Red Cross is informed about migrants with health problems when they apply for aslyum.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-tweet widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio\u2014auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__tweet\" data-tweet-id=\"1491162187444133888\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>According to the Lithuanian border guard, migrants were taken to hospital 30 times between July and December, while a medic was called 40 times to assist them on the spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lithuanian Interior Minster Agne Bilotait\u0117 told reporters in November that Belarus was sending migrants across the border without shoes and winter clothes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But she added this would not be grounds to grant these individuals asylum.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The EU has accused Minsk of engineering a crisis on the bloc&#039;s eastern border in retaliation for EU sanctions slapped on Belarus after it intercepted a passenger plane bound for Lithuania carrying a Belarussian opposition activist.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lithuanian border forces have been accused of repeatedly pushing back migrants trying to cross its border with Belarus, often violently.<\/p>\n<p>Once on the other side, Belarussian authorities typically force them back again. Videos circulating online show them cutting holes in Lithuania&#039;s border fence and channelling migrants through certain points.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania is not the only country grappling with Belarus&#039;s instrumentalisation of migration. Latvia and Poland have had migrants pushed into their borders as well by MInsk.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Several migrants have died in Poland and Belarus, though no deaths have been recorded in the Baltic states.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1670664324,"publishedAt":1670668566,"updatedAt":1670669051,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2022\/12\/10\/third-migrant-loses-leg-to-frostbite-at-lithuania-belarus-border-reports","programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/06\/14\/78\/34\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_d23c88f0-a710-576d-ae3a-3ebf4b4ef4e1-6147834.jpg","altText":"Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, A migrant stands by the fence at the at the newly built refugee camp near Vilnius, Lithuania.","caption":"Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, A migrant stands by the fence at the at the newly built refugee camp near Vilnius, Lithuania.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Mindaugas Kulbis\/Copyright 2021 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"askew","title":"Joshua Askew","twitter":"@jweaskew"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":13190,"slug":"migrants","urlSafeValue":"migrants","title":"Migrants","titleRaw":"Migrants"},{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":23,"slug":"belarus","urlSafeValue":"belarus","title":"Belarus","titleRaw":"Belarus"},{"id":9419,"slug":"humanitarian-crisis","urlSafeValue":"humanitarian-crisis","title":"Humanitarian crisis","titleRaw":"Humanitarian crisis"}],"related":[{"id":2170988}],"technicalTags":[],"widgets":[{"slug":"twitter","count":1}],"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":{"quotation":null,"description":null,"author":null},"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":null,"contentType":null,"displayOverlay":0},"displayType":"default","video":0,"videos":[],"externalPartners":[],"liveStream":[],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"world news","online":1,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"isDfp":0,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":""},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":174,"urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","url":"\/news\/europe\/lithuania"},"town":[],"versions":[],"path":"\/2022\/12\/10\/third-migrant-loses-leg-to-frostbite-at-lithuania-belarus-border-reports","lastModified":1670669051},{"id":2138626,"cid":7224686,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"221201_NWSU_49347552","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"grapeshot":"'neg_nespresso','neg_intel_mobkoi','shadow9hu7_pos_ukrainecrisis','neg_facebook_2021','neg_ukraine_russia_war','shadow9hu7_pos_ukraine-russia','neg_mobkoi_creed_eng','neg_mobkoi_new','gs_politics','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','gt_negative','gs_politics_misc','gs_politics_issues_policy','gb_death_injury_news-ent','gt_negative_anger','gv_military','gs_war_conflict','gs_society','gv_death_injury','gs_society_misc','gs_law_misc','gv_hatespeech'","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Row breaks out as Vilnius tears down Stalin-era WW2 memorial","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Row breaks out as Vilnius tears down Stalin-era WW2 memorial","titleListing2":"Row breaks out as Vilnius tears down Stalin-era WW2 memorial","leadin":"Critics of the move say it will hand Putin a propaganda victory. Local authorities describe the monument as a painful reminder of the Soviet occupation.","summary":"Critics of the move say it will hand Putin a propaganda victory. Local authorities describe the monument as a painful reminder of the Soviet occupation.","keySentence":null,"url":"row-breaks-out-as-vilnius-tears-down-stalin-era-ww2-memorial","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"A row has broken out in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius after the local authority began taking down a WW2 monument on Thursday, despite a UN injunction.\u00a0 \n\nCritics of the decision to remove the\u00a0Stalin-era memorial (pictured, above) to fallen Red Army soldiers claim it is divisive and gives Russia a propaganda victory.\u00a0 \n\nBut supporters say it is a painful reminder of the Soviet occupation of Lithuania and should be taken away to show solidarity with Kyiv amid Russia's war in Ukraine. \n\nProfessor Stanislovas Tomas, a lawyer representing those who have petitioned against the removal, told Euronews the move would hand Moscow a propaganda victory.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\n\"Putin needs the destruction of the monument at [Antakalnis] cemetery in order to mobilise Russians, so he can say: 'They are destroying key elements of Russian culture, they are supporting Hitler',\"\u00a0he said.\u00a0 \n\nRussian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly claimed that invading Ukraine was necessary to protect his country from far-right neo-Nazis in Kyiv, a claim dismissed as a \"plain and simple lie\" by experts.\u00a0 \n\nProf Tomas said his 20-strong group of petitioners opposed the Ukraine war and hoped one day Russia would be ruled by another leader.\u00a0 \n\n\nLocal authorities in Vilnius contest this, saying the memorial must be removed for historical and political reasons.\u00a0 \n\n\"The time has come to remove one of the last symbols of Soviet occupation from our city,\" said\u00a0Remigijus \u0160ima\u0161ius, the mayor of Vilnius, told Euronews in a statement, adding that the decision had also come \"as a response to the unwarranted Russian aggression toward Ukraine\".\u00a0 \n\nHe noted that the Vilnius municipality \"has been steadily cleaning the city of Soviet symbols -- memorials, statues, and other reminders of former occupants -- over the years.\u00a0 \n\n\"Most attributes were removed once Lithuania regained its independence [from the USSR] in 1991,\" he said. \n\nThe small Baltic country was occupied by Russian forces in 1944 and became part of the USSR. Some Lithuanians blame Russia for economic stagnation and are critical of its political control during this time, though others view the USSR more positively.\u00a0 \n\nSpeaking to Euronews, Prof Tomas feared that the removal of the statue, which is due to be completed in three weeks, would drive a wedge between Lithuania's Russian-speaking minority and the wider population.\u00a0 \n\n\"These actions will push the Russian population towards Putin,\" he said. \"You should [reach out] to the Russian population in Lithuania ... in order to convince them of the values of European society, instead of making the residents of your country enemies\".\u00a0 \n\nRussian speakers are the second-largest minority in Lithuania, making up around 5% of the population. Many of them were born and raised in the country.\u00a0 \n\nThose against the move claim vehicles will pass over burial sites and tombstones will be displaced during the removal process, desecrating the graves of those who died fighting Nazi Germany in World War Two (WW2). \n\n\"People have relatives who are in that cemetery [...] the monument represents our forefathers, heroes of the Second World War, courageous soldiers,\" said\u00a0Prof Tomas. \"There is a general Russophobia because of the war in Ukraine. But the war in Ukraine has nothing to do with World War Two.\" \n\n\u0160ima\u0161ius fiercely dismissed these claims as false.\u00a0 \n\n\"No graves or gravestones will be removed or damaged during this entire process, and there has never been any intention to do so,\" he said. \"All operations are being implemented with the utmost regard to all international regulations. The Soviet propagandistic stelae will simply be removed from the territory of the cemetery and taken to a site for safekeeping.\" \n\nAround 25,000 Lithuanian troops are estimated to have been killed in WWII, fighting in both the Soviet and German armies.\u00a0 \n\nThe cemetery where the monument stands is used by Lithuanians to mark the anniversary of the end of the war. \n\nProf Tomas, who said he was a Lithuanian Jew, called out what he saw as hypocrisy around the removal. \n\nHe claimed that\u00a0Lithuania has erected monuments to far-right figures and those who took part in the Lithuanian holocaust, during which nearly 200,000 Jews were massacred in 1941. \n\nUntil it was removed in 2019, the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences displayed a memorial plaque to Jonas Noreika, who ordered the murder of 1,800 Jews that year. He later became a lawyer and organiser of anti-Soviet resistance, until his execution in 1947. \n\nIn May, the United Nations Human Rights Committee put an interim measure in place, prompting Vilnius municipality to postpone removing the memorial. \n\nA group calling themselves \"ethnic Russias\" had petitioned the UN body to intervene, reported LRT, a Lithuanian media outlet.\u00a0 \n\nHowever, according to \u0160ima\u0161ius, the UN was given misleading information. \n\n\"It is unfortunate that the United Nations Committee has been misled by people who want to throw accusatory statements at Lithuania to degrade it,\" he said. \"Their accusations are not correct\".\u00a0 \n\nThe Human Rights Committee declined to comment on the case.","htmlText":"<p>A row has broken out in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius after the local authority began taking down a WW2 monument on Thursday, despite a UN injunction.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Critics of the decision to remove the\u00a0Stalin-era memorial (pictured, above) to fallen Red Army soldiers claim it is divisive and gives Russia a propaganda victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But supporters say it is a painful reminder of the Soviet occupation of Lithuania and should be taken away to show solidarity with Kyiv amid Russia&#039;s war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>Professor Stanislovas Tomas, a lawyer representing those who have petitioned against the removal, told Euronews the move would hand Moscow a propaganda victory.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"Putin needs the destruction of the monument at [Antakalnis] cemetery in order to mobilise Russians, so he can say: &#039;They are destroying key elements of Russian culture, they are supporting Hitler&#039;,\"\u00a0he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly claimed that invading Ukraine was necessary to protect his country from far-right neo-Nazis in Kyiv, a claim <strong><a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//04//12//the-myth-far-right-zealots-run-ukraine-is-russian-propaganda-view/">dismissed as a \"plain and simple lie\" by experts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Prof Tomas said his 20-strong group of petitioners opposed the Ukraine war and hoped one day Russia would be ruled by another leader.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"6704070\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2022//05//17//this-lithuanian-afghan-belarusian-sri-lankan-band-has-a-message-for-europe/">This Lithuanian-Afghan-Belarusian-Sri Lankan band has a message for Europe<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Local authorities in Vilnius contest this, saying the memorial must be removed for historical and political reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"The time has come to remove one of the last symbols of Soviet occupation from our city,\" said\u00a0Remigijus \u0160ima\u0161ius, the mayor of Vilnius, told Euronews in a statement, adding that the decision had also come \"as a response to the unwarranted Russian aggression toward Ukraine\".\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He noted that the Vilnius municipality \"has been steadily cleaning the city of Soviet symbols -- memorials, statues, and other reminders of former occupants -- over the years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"Most attributes were removed once Lithuania regained its independence [from the USSR] in 1991,\" he said.<\/p>\n<p>The small Baltic country was occupied by Russian forces in 1944 and became part of the USSR. Some Lithuanians blame Russia for economic stagnation and are critical of its political control during this time, though others view the USSR more positively.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to Euronews, Prof Tomas feared that the removal of the statue, which is due to be completed in three weeks, would drive a wedge between Lithuania&#039;s Russian-speaking minority and the wider population.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"These actions will push the Russian population towards Putin,\" he said. \"You should [reach out] to the Russian population in Lithuania ... in order to convince them of the values of European society, instead of making the residents of your country enemies\".\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Russian speakers are the second-largest minority in Lithuania, making up around 5% of the population. Many of them were born and raised in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6796875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//22//46//86//808x550_cmsv2_08fdb68c-5ec0-5dda-8d78-51309bebd807-7224686.jpg/" alt=\"Mindaugas Kulbis&#47;Copyright 2019 The AP. All rights reserved.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/22\/46\/86\/384x261_cmsv2_08fdb68c-5ec0-5dda-8d78-51309bebd807-7224686.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/22\/46\/86\/640x435_cmsv2_08fdb68c-5ec0-5dda-8d78-51309bebd807-7224686.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/22\/46\/86\/750x510_cmsv2_08fdb68c-5ec0-5dda-8d78-51309bebd807-7224686.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/22\/46\/86\/828x563_cmsv2_08fdb68c-5ec0-5dda-8d78-51309bebd807-7224686.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/22\/46\/86\/1080x734_cmsv2_08fdb68c-5ec0-5dda-8d78-51309bebd807-7224686.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/22\/46\/86\/1200x816_cmsv2_08fdb68c-5ec0-5dda-8d78-51309bebd807-7224686.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/22\/46\/86\/1920x1305_cmsv2_08fdb68c-5ec0-5dda-8d78-51309bebd807-7224686.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">People hold portraits of relatives who fought in WWII at the Antakalnis memorial in Vilnius, Lithuania, Thursday, May 9, 2019.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Mindaugas Kulbis&#47;Copyright 2019 The AP. All rights reserved.<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Those against the move claim vehicles will pass over burial sites and tombstones will be displaced during the removal process, desecrating the graves of those who died fighting Nazi Germany in World War Two (WW2).<\/p>\n<p>\"People have relatives who are in that cemetery [...] the monument represents our forefathers, heroes of the Second World War, courageous soldiers,\" said\u00a0Prof Tomas. \"There is a general Russophobia because of the war in Ukraine. But the war in Ukraine has nothing to do with World War Two.\"<\/p>\n<p>\u0160ima\u0161ius fiercely dismissed these claims as false.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"No graves or gravestones will be removed or damaged during this entire process, and there has never been any intention to do so,\" he said. \"All operations are being implemented with the utmost regard to all international regulations. The Soviet propagandistic stelae will simply be removed from the territory of the cemetery and taken to a site for safekeeping.\"<\/p>\n<p>Around 25,000 Lithuanian troops are estimated to have been killed in WWII, fighting in both the Soviet and German armies.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"7212454\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//11//24//barefoot-migrants-pushed-by-belarus-across-lithuanian-border-says-minister/">Barefoot migrants pushed by Belarus across Lithuanian border, says minister<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The cemetery where the monument stands is used by Lithuanians to mark the anniversary of the end of the war.<\/p>\n<p>Prof Tomas, who said he was a Lithuanian Jew, called out what he saw as hypocrisy around the removal.<\/p>\n<p>He claimed that\u00a0Lithuania has erected monuments to far-right figures and those who took part in the Lithuanian holocaust, during which nearly 200,000 Jews were massacred in 1941.<\/p>\n<p>Until it was removed in 2019, the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences displayed a memorial plaque to Jonas Noreika, who ordered the murder of 1,800 Jews that year. He later became a lawyer and organiser of anti-Soviet resistance, until his execution in 1947.<\/p>\n<p>In May, the United Nations Human Rights Committee put an interim measure in place, prompting Vilnius municipality to postpone removing the memorial.<\/p>\n<p>A group calling themselves \"ethnic Russias\" had petitioned the UN body to intervene, reported LRT, a Lithuanian media outlet.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, according to \u0160ima\u0161ius, the UN was given misleading information.<\/p>\n<p>\"It is unfortunate that the United Nations Committee has been misled by people who want to throw accusatory statements at Lithuania to degrade it,\" he said. \"Their accusations are not correct\".\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Human Rights Committee declined to comment on the case.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1669898178,"publishedAt":1669978951,"updatedAt":1669978954,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2022\/12\/02\/row-breaks-out-as-vilnius-tears-down-stalin-era-ww2-memorial","programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/22\/46\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_eefef9ff-82a9-5b24-9e87-fc35a01402c5-7224686.jpg","altText":"The Antakalnis memorial during the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II celebrations in Vilnius, Lithuania, Saturday, May 9, 2020.","caption":"The Antakalnis memorial during the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II celebrations in Vilnius, Lithuania, Saturday, May 9, 2020.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Mindaugas Kulbis\/Copyright 2020 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":900},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/22\/46\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_08fdb68c-5ec0-5dda-8d78-51309bebd807-7224686.jpg","altText":"People hold portraits of relatives who fought in WWII at the Antakalnis memorial in Vilnius, Lithuania, Thursday, May 9, 2019.","caption":"People hold portraits of relatives who fought in WWII at the Antakalnis memorial in Vilnius, Lithuania, Thursday, May 9, 2019.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Mindaugas Kulbis\/Copyright 2019 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":696},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/22\/46\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_04c7c415-e8db-51ca-8a21-390422ba4a50-7224686.jpg","altText":"the Antakalnis memorial during the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II celebrations in Vilnius, Lithuania, Saturday, May 9, 2020.","caption":"the Antakalnis memorial during the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II celebrations in Vilnius, Lithuania, Saturday, May 9, 2020.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Mindaugas Kulbis\/Copyright 2020 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":696}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"askew","title":"Joshua Askew","twitter":"@jweaskew"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":26692,"slug":"war-in-ukraine","urlSafeValue":"war-in-ukraine","title":"Ukraine war","titleRaw":"Ukraine war"},{"id":10093,"slug":"soviet-union","urlSafeValue":"soviet-union","title":"Soviet Union","titleRaw":"Soviet Union"},{"id":15540,"slug":"statue","urlSafeValue":"statue","title":"statue","titleRaw":"statue"},{"id":14360,"slug":"memorial","urlSafeValue":"memorial","title":"Memorial","titleRaw":"Memorial"}],"related":[{"id":2180350}],"technicalTags":[],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":1},{"slug":"related","count":2}],"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":{"quotation":null,"description":null,"author":null},"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":null,"contentType":null,"displayOverlay":0},"displayType":"default","video":0,"videos":[],"externalPartners":[],"liveStream":[],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"world news","online":1,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"isDfp":0,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":""},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":174,"urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","url":"\/news\/europe\/lithuania"},"town":[],"versions":[],"path":"\/2022\/12\/02\/row-breaks-out-as-vilnius-tears-down-stalin-era-ww2-memorial","lastModified":1669978954},{"id":2133200,"cid":7212454,"versionId":2,"archive":0,"housenumber":"221124_NWSU_49249587","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"grapeshot":"'neg_mobkoi_castrol','castrol_negative_uk','neg_facebook_2021','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','gs_politics_misc','neg_intel_en','gs_politics_issues_policy','gb_sensitive_news-ent','gv_death_injury','gs_politics','sm_politics','neg_bucherer','gt_negative','gs_law','gs_society'","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Barefoot migrants pushed by Belarus across Lithuanian border, says minister","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Barefoot migrants pushed by Belarus across Lithuanian border: Minister","titleListing2":"Barefoot migrants pushed by Belarus across Lithuanian border, says minister","leadin":"This follows reports that a Sri Lankan man lost his leg to frostbite after being pushed across the snowy Lithuanian border barefoot.","summary":"This follows reports that a Sri Lankan man lost his leg to frostbite after being pushed across the snowy Lithuanian border barefoot.","keySentence":null,"url":"barefoot-migrants-pushed-by-belarus-across-lithuanian-border-says-minister","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Belarus is pushing migrants across the Lithuanian border barefoot in a bid to exert pressure on the country, Lithuania's government said on Wednesday.\u00a0 \n\nInterior Minister Agne Bilotait\u0117 told reporters that nine people had been found without shoes, and without proper winter clothes, adding that two migrants were hospitalised.\u00a0 \n\nThis follows reports that a Sri Lankan man lost his leg and five toes to frostbite after being trapped in no- man's land between Belarus and Lithuania earlier this month.\u00a0 \n\nSince 2021, Lithuania and Belarus have ping-ponged migrants back and forth across each other's borders, following geo-political tensions between the two. \n\nMany of the migrants -- mostly from the Middle East and South East Asia -- were reportedly purposefully brought to Belarus, which the EU has accused of engineering the crisis in response to sanctions.\u00a0 \n\n' Serious concern' \n\nIn a statement, Bilotait\u0117 said trying to cross the border barefoot would not be sufficient grounds for entry into Lithuania, or for asylum.\u00a0 \n\n\"The fact that people arrive at the border barefoot will not be a reason to let them in,\" she said.\u00a0 \n\n\"Our message is that such attempts will not be a reason to enter Lithuania.\" \n\nFour of the nine individuals taken to hospital were offered the chance to apply for asylum.\u00a0 \n\nLithuanian border forces have been accused of repeatedly pushing back migrants trying to cross its border with Belarus, often violently.\u00a0 \n\nOnce on the other side, Belarussian authorities typically force them back again.\u00a0 \n\nHundreds of people are thought to be currently trapped between the two countries and have set up camp in sub-zero temperatures.\u00a0 \n\nThousands of migrants have been affected, aid groups say.\u00a0 \n\n\"They are deliberately kept there, not released. They are not provided with [warm clothes], they are not accustomed to winter conditions,\" said\u00a0Bilotait\u0117.\u00a0 \n\nCritics of the Lithuanian government have urged the country to take in some of those stuck at the border and view their asylum claims.\u00a0 \n\nOther migrants are stuck between Belarus's borders with Latvia and Poland, where several are reported to have died.\u00a0 \n\nNo deaths have been recorded in Lithuania or Latvia.\u00a0 \n\nBelarus has 'actively damaged' the border \n\nA high number of Belarusian border officers have been observed at the border, said Lithuania's interior minister.\u00a0 \n\nBilotait\u0117 accused Belarus of sabotaging the Lithuanian border in its bid to aid those sneaking through the border. \n\n\u201cThey not only continue to push migrants into Lithuania but also actively damage the physical barrier, particularly where border monitoring systems have not yet been installed,\" she said.\u00a0 \n\n\"Illegal migrants also try to damage the physical barrier on their own. In total, the number of physical barriers damaged is 433 times.\u201d \n\nSocial media videos purportedly show Belarusian border guards cutting fences and escorting migrants through Lithuania's border fence.\u00a0 \n\nShe stressed that officials on the border were taking all the needed measures to avoid humanitarian issues on the border, alongside providing aid.\u00a0 \n\nAccording to the figures provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a total of 10,549 illegal migrants were detained on their way entering illegally to Lithuania.\u00a0 \n\nEarlier this year, the country installed a metal fence which explains the length of 550 km of the border with Belarus.\u00a0 \n\nLithuania announced that by the end of 2022 it will complete the installation of high-tech monitoring systems.","htmlText":"<p>Belarus is pushing migrants across the Lithuanian border barefoot in a bid to exert pressure on the country, Lithuania&#039;s government said on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Interior Minister <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////twitter.com//ABilotaite/">Agne Bilotait\u0117<\/strong><\/a> told reporters that nine people had been found without shoes, and without proper winter clothes, adding that two migrants were hospitalised.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This follows reports that a Sri Lankan man lost his leg and five toes to frostbite after being trapped in no- man&#039;s land between Belarus and Lithuania earlier this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Since 2021, Lithuania and Belarus have ping-ponged migrants back and forth across each other&#039;s borders, following geo-political tensions between the two.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the migrants -- mostly from the Middle East and South East Asia -- were reportedly purposefully brought to Belarus, which the EU has accused of engineering the crisis in response to sanctions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>'<strong>Serious concern'<\/strong><\/h2><p>In a statement, Bilotait\u0117 said trying to cross the border barefoot would not be sufficient grounds for entry into Lithuania, or for asylum.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"The fact that people arrive at the border barefoot will not be a reason to let them in,\" she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"Our message is that such attempts will not be a reason to enter Lithuania.\"<\/p>\n<p>Four of the nine individuals taken to hospital were offered the chance to apply for asylum.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lithuanian border forces have been accused of repeatedly pushing back migrants trying to cross its border with Belarus, often violently.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Once on the other side, Belarussian authorities typically force them back again.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of people are thought to be currently trapped between the two countries and have set up camp in sub-zero temperatures.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Thousands of migrants have been affected, aid groups say.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"They are deliberately kept there, not released. They are not provided with [warm clothes], they are not accustomed to winter conditions,\" said\u00a0Bilotait\u0117.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Critics of the Lithuanian government have urged the country to take in some of those stuck at the border and view their asylum claims.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Other migrants are stuck between Belarus&#039;s borders with Latvia and Poland, where several are reported to have died.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>No deaths have been recorded in Lithuania or Latvia.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"6243482,7182778,6216648\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2021//11//10//dozens-of-migrants-detained-in-poland-after-breaking-across-belarus-border/">Belarus border chaos a 'hybrid attack not a migration crisis', says EU's von der Leyen<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//11//09//poland-rescues-10-suspected-migrants-from-swamp-near-belarus-border/">Poland rescues 10 suspected migrants from swamp near Belarus border<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2021//11//18//poland-belarus-latvia-to-install-temporary-fence-as-migrant-crisis-escalates/">Migrants: Latvia installs 'temporary' fence on Belarus border after Poland crisis<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2><strong>Belarus has 'actively damaged' the border<\/strong><\/h2><p>A high number of Belarusian border officers have been observed at the border, said Lithuania&#039;s interior minister.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bilotait\u0117 accused Belarus of sabotaging the Lithuanian border in its bid to aid those sneaking through the border.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey not only continue to push migrants into Lithuania but also actively damage the physical barrier, particularly where border monitoring systems have not yet been installed,\" she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"Illegal migrants also try to damage the physical barrier on their own. In total, the number of physical barriers damaged is 433 times.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Social media videos purportedly show Belarusian border guards cutting fences and escorting migrants through Lithuania&#039;s border fence.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She stressed that officials on the border were taking all the needed measures to avoid humanitarian issues on the border, alongside providing aid.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>According to the figures provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a total of 10,549 illegal migrants were detained on their way entering illegally to Lithuania.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, the country installed a metal fence which explains the length of 550 km of the border with Belarus.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania announced that by the end of 2022 it will complete the installation of high-tech monitoring systems.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1669308076,"publishedAt":1669314742,"updatedAt":1669381369,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2022\/11\/24\/barefoot-migrants-pushed-by-belarus-across-lithuanian-border-says-minister","programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/21\/24\/54\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_fabfbd2a-91df-5fa8-adcd-faa5c43e0347-7212454.jpg","altText":"A migrant with a child walks along the barbed wire fence as other gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021.","caption":"A migrant with a child walks along the barbed wire fence as other gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Oksana Manchuk\/BelTA","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"askew","title":"Joshua Askew","twitter":"@jweaskew"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":23,"slug":"belarus","urlSafeValue":"belarus","title":"Belarus","titleRaw":"Belarus"},{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":13450,"slug":"migration","urlSafeValue":"migration","title":"migration","titleRaw":"migration"},{"id":19658,"slug":"forced-migration","urlSafeValue":"forced-migration","title":"Forced migration","titleRaw":"Forced migration"}],"related":[{"id":2143886}],"technicalTags":[],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":{"quotation":null,"description":null,"author":null},"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":null,"contentType":null,"displayOverlay":0},"displayType":"default","video":0,"videos":[],"externalPartners":[],"liveStream":[],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"world news","online":1,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"isDfp":0,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":""},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":174,"urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","url":"\/news\/europe\/lithuania"},"town":[],"versions":[],"path":"\/2022\/11\/24\/barefoot-migrants-pushed-by-belarus-across-lithuanian-border-says-minister","lastModified":1669381369},{"id":2122460,"cid":7188208,"versionId":2,"archive":0,"housenumber":"221111_TCSU_49061496","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"grapeshot":"'gs_travel_locations','gs_travel','gs_travel_locations_europe','gb_safe','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','gs_food','neg_facebook_2021','gs_fooddrink','gt_positive','gs_fooddrink_cooking','gs_food_misc','neg_nespresso','gs_travel_locations_asia','neg_saudiaramco','castrol_negative_uk','neg_mobkoi_castrol','eap-gs-homerfaber-fs-30july19','gt_positive_pleasure','gv_safe'","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"I\u2019m a digital nomad in Lithuania. Here\u2019s my advice on visas, wifi and living costs","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Is Lithuania a good place for digital nomads?","titleListing2":"I\u2019m a digital nomad in Lithuania. Here\u2019s my advice on visas, wifi and living costs","leadin":"Lithuania is making a name for itself as a tempting destination for digital nomads. Here\u2019s why.","summary":"Lithuania is making a name for itself as a tempting destination for digital nomads. Here\u2019s why.","keySentence":null,"url":"vilnius-is-europes-next-big-digital-nomad-destination-heres-what-you-need-to-know","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Lithuania . Where is it? What is it like? What\u2019s daily life like there? \n\nYou may have these questions if you have not been to the small Baltic country \u2013 and chances are you haven\u2019t. \n\nCOVID hammered tourism in the region, while the Ukraine war caused many tourists to cancel or postpone their trips to Lithuania, according to local media outlet LRT. \n\nBut now Lithuania is making a bid for a particular type of traveller: digital nomads . \n\nIs it easy to get a visa for Lithuania? \n\nLithuania is part of the European Union and the Schengen zone. So if you are an EU citizen, you can stay for up to 3 months without registering in the country. \n\nFrom the UK, US, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand or Japan? There is a fast-tracked, simplified visa which can generally be obtained in a couple of months after applying. \n\nThe requirements for this visa are that you must be employed or self-employed, have a clean criminal record, health insurance and earn the Lithuanian minimum wage which is \u20ac600. \n\nTravellers from other countries should check Lithuania\u2019s official website to find out what visas are required. \n\nBut, in comparison to other European countries, it is quicker, easier and cheaper to get a visa in Lithuania if you are from a third country. \n\nThe country is hungry for labour to fuel its surging economy and it is not swamped with applications like other places in the EU. \n\nAn added benefit is that a Lithuanian Temporary Residence Permit allows you to travel within the Schengen Area, with your passport, for 90 days every 180 on a rolling basis. \n\nWhat is the cost of living in Lithuania? \n\nLithuania is no Turkey , a place renowned for its cheap prices for those on foreign incomes. But it will seem good value if you are from northern Europe. \n\nA good quality craft beer in a bar will set you back around \u20ac3.50, while a hearty meal with drinks for two people is upwards of \u20ac30, but no more than \u20ac60. \n\nBut prices are rising - and fast. The Ukraine war has fuelled one of the highest rates of inflation in Europe in Lithuania, hitting 22 per cent in October. \n\nHow much is rent for digital nomads in Vilnius? \n\nStill, rent remains cheap compared to prices elsewhere in Europe. \n\nA one-bedroom apartment in the dead centre of the Lithuanian capital , Vilnius, costs \u20ac600-800 a month, though cheaper options are available towards the outskirts of town. \n\nIf you fancy it, a room in a flatshare in Vilnius is around \u20ac250-350 a month. \n\nOld soviet blocs can look a tad grim on the outside, but they were built for livability not profit, and have large and well-lit rooms. \n\nWhat are co-working spaces like in Vilnius? \n\nVilnius has a thriving digital nomad scene . \n\nLove convenience and getting to know your neighbours? Vilnius has co-living spaces - self-contained blocks with shared workspaces, gyms, cinemas and sports facilities. \n\nThink communism but for young professionals. \n\nCo-working spaces are also hugely popular, with Vilnius having a wide variety of options. \n\nTalent Garden Lithuania is the Mecca of co-working environments. Spanning two floors, it is home to a thriving community of more than 200 young professionals, offering flexible workspaces, digital skills training and events. Plus free coffee, most importantly. Membership fees start from \u20ac189\/month + VAT. \n\nOther co-working spaces in Vilnius include Workland Did\u017eioji, Rock it, AltSpace and Spaces. \n\nDoes Lithuania have fast wifi? Is it affordable? \n\nIt\u2019s well known that Lithuania has really fast wifi . It takes fourth place in the EU and 9th in the entire world, with an average speed of 45.11 Mbps. \n\nFree wifi is widely available in cafes and libraries. Home internet access costs between \u20ac15 and \u20ac20 for premium packages. \n\nWhat\u2019s it like to remote work from Lithuania? \n\nIf you don\u2019t fancy a co-working space , there are plenty of other work locations in Vilnius. Cafes, dedicated working spaces and public libraries are all over town, \n\nSo there are a range of places to comfortably work and study either alone or with friends. \n\nWorking in Vilnius University Library is a particular treat. There is a small membership fee, but its 16th-century architecture, furniture, paintings and windows are simply beautiful. \n\nNote: Lithuania is two hours ahead of the UK and one hour ahead of mainland Europe. This can give you more leeway in the morning if you have had a late night, but can hamper a quick finish to the day. \n\nWhat is daily life like in Lithuania? \n\nLife in Lithuania is what you make it. \n\nPractically everyone speaks English, especially young people. So you don\u2019t need to worry about learning Lithuanian, though making an effort to learn some is always appreciated by locals. \n\nLithuanian itself is an ancient, yet complex, language, sharing grammar and phonology with Sanskrit. It was first spoken between 1500 - 600 BC in southeast Asia . \n\nEven Lithuanians say they aren\u2019t the friendliest people. Small talk is not in the culture and Lithuanians know they can come across as reserved at times. \n\n But once the ice melts, people are kind and considerate. Like everywhere, there are friends and connections to be made. \n\nThere is a budding community of ex-pats in Lithuania and the Facebook group \u2018 Foreigners in Vilnius \u2019 is very helpful. \n\nPack a coat because winters are harsh, especially from November to March. You might struggle a bit at first, especially if coming from a southern European country . \n\nDunking yourself in frozen lakes is a popular pastime here. Give it a try or watch in disbelief from the sidelines. \n\nSpring and summer are truly lovely though. Unique in European capitals, forests and parks are everywhere and always within a short walking distance. \n\nWhat is Lithuanian food like? \n\nLike in most cold countries, Lithuanian cuisine isn't well known outside its borders. It is perfect for winter, if not a little unforgiving on the waistline. \n\nPotato pancakes, pigs ears and \u2018Cepelinai\u2019 are traditional dishes. Named after the Zeppelin airship, Cepelinai are potato dumplings stuffed with meat. They are one of the cheapest, most filling meals you\u2019ll find so perfect if you\u2019re on a budget. \n\nVilnius has a great array of restaurants, especially with food from former communist countries. Cha\u010dapuri is an excellent, inexpensive Georgian diner, while Viet.in\u0117s offers delicious, authentic Vietnamese food and quite an unconventional experience \u2013 you can sit and eat in the kitchen. \n\nIs there good nightlife in Lithuania? \n\nThere really is something for everyone in Vilnius\u2019s nightlife scene. \n\nThe city is packed full of bars , pubs and clubs, ranging from young and trendy to old man haunts. \n\nIf you feel like dancing all night, Loftas, Tunelis and Opium often play drum and bass, psytrance and techno music, while Salento is ideal for world music and pop. \n\nThere are plenty of options for the LGBTQ+ community . \n\nAs for bars and pubs, Busi Trecias has a cosy vibe, with wooden interiors and board games. Make sure you try the beer cocktails. \n\nPlus, Plus, Plus is the cheapest watering hole in Vilnius and is regularly packed full of young people and ERASMUS students. \n\nA very big bonus to Vilnius is it always feels safe , with women feeling comfortable walking home alone late at night. \n\nWhat are Lithuania\u2019s tourist attractions? \n\nLithuania has a fascinating history. Vilnius was once known as the \u2018Jerusalem of the North\u2019, owing to its large Jewish population. \n\nWalking around the mediaeval Old Town is lovely, with the area packed full of beautiful churches, parks, shops and cafes. \n\nThere is also a quirky independent art republic in Uzupis, where people hold informal parties and gatherings by the river in the summer months. \n\nIt is one of the only capital cities in the world where you can take a hot air balloon over the city. \n\nOutside of the capital, Kleapedia and Kaunas should be the first cities to tick off your sightseeing list. \n\nLithuania is in an interesting part of the world, surrounded by countries that have a lot on offer, meaning plenty of options for international travel. \n\nBelarus, Latvia, Poland and Estonia are all reachable easily and cheaply by train or bus, where there is fun and sightseeing to be had.\u00a0","htmlText":"<p><a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//08//22//popular-lithuanian-park-bans-russians-from-entering/">Lithuania. Where is it? What is it like? What\u2019s daily life like there?<\/p>\n<p>You may have these questions if you have not been to the small Baltic country \u2013 and chances are you haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p><a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//10//21//what-s-the-latest-on-european-travel-restrictions/">COVID hammered tourism<\/strong><\/a> in the region, while the Ukraine war caused many tourists to cancel or postpone their trips to Lithuania, according to local media outlet LRT.<\/p>\n<p>But now Lithuania is making a bid for a particular type of traveller: <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//10//10//digital-nomads-will-be-able-to-live-and-work-in-portugal-full-time-with-this-new-visa/">digital nomads<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Is it easy to get a visa for Lithuania?<\/h2><p>Lithuania is part of the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//10//13//what-is-a-golden-visa-and-why-are-some-countries-giving-them-up-for-good/">European Union<\/strong><\/a> and the Schengen zone. So if you are an EU citizen, you can stay for up to 3 months without registering in the country.<\/p>\n<p>From the UK, US, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand or Japan? There is a <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.migracija.lt//documents//20123//62279//70.19+Viza+6+mėn.+pagal+pilietybę_ENG.pdf//fea63e22-046a-b1d7-c3d7-aac53b4c54fb?t=1616144158403\%22>fast-tracked, simplified visa<\/strong><\/a> which can generally be obtained in a couple of months after applying.<\/p>\n<p>The requirements for this visa are that you must be employed or self-employed, have a clean criminal record, health insurance and earn the Lithuanian minimum wage which is \u20ac600.<\/p>\n<p>Travellers from other countries should check Lithuania\u2019s <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.migracija.lt//en//noriu-gauti-vizą2/">official website<\/strong><\/a> to find out what visas are required.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6787109375\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//18//82//08//808x550_cmsv2_d7c9465d-fed6-5a3a-9243-228e399d2241-7188208.jpg/" alt=\"Mindaugas Kulbis&#47;Copyright 2019 The AP. All rights reserved.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/384x261_cmsv2_d7c9465d-fed6-5a3a-9243-228e399d2241-7188208.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/640x434_cmsv2_d7c9465d-fed6-5a3a-9243-228e399d2241-7188208.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/750x509_cmsv2_d7c9465d-fed6-5a3a-9243-228e399d2241-7188208.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/828x562_cmsv2_d7c9465d-fed6-5a3a-9243-228e399d2241-7188208.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/1080x733_cmsv2_d7c9465d-fed6-5a3a-9243-228e399d2241-7188208.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/1200x814_cmsv2_d7c9465d-fed6-5a3a-9243-228e399d2241-7188208.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/1920x1303_cmsv2_d7c9465d-fed6-5a3a-9243-228e399d2241-7188208.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Children enjoy a light installations during the &quot;Festival of Lights&quot; celebrating the 696th anniversary of Vilnius city in Old Town in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, Jan 25, 2019.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Mindaugas Kulbis&#47;Copyright 2019 The AP. All rights reserved.<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>But, in comparison to other European countries, it is quicker, easier and cheaper to get a visa in Lithuania if you are from a third country.<\/p>\n<p>The country is hungry for labour to fuel its surging economy and it is not swamped with applications like other places in the EU.<\/p>\n<p>An added benefit is that a <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.migracija.lt//en//home/">Lithuanian Temporary Residence Permit<\/strong><\/a> allows you to travel within the Schengen Area, with your passport, for 90 days every 180 on a rolling basis.<\/p>\n<h2>What is the cost of living in Lithuania?<\/h2><p>Lithuania is no <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//10//18//two-spanish-tourists-killed-in-air-balloon-accident-in-turkeys-cappadocia/">Turkey, a place renowned for its cheap prices for those on foreign incomes. But it will seem good value if you are from northern Europe.<\/p>\n<p>A good quality craft beer in a bar will set you back around \u20ac3.50, while a hearty meal with drinks for two people is upwards of \u20ac30, but no more than \u20ac60.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"7187702,7171268\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//11//11//ecuador-is-launching-a-digital-nomad-visa-offering-low-cost-of-living-and-good-quality-of-/">Ecuador is launching a digital nomad visa, offering low cost of living and good quality of life<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2022//11//03//from-air-fryers-to-batch-cooking-these-energy-saving-kitchen-tips-could-save-you-700-a-yea/">From air fryers to batch cooking: These energy-saving kitchen tips could save you \u20ac700 a year<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>But prices are rising - and fast. The <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//03//26//how-is-the-ukraine-invasion-shutting-down-tourism-in-turkey-and-cuba/">Ukraine war<\/strong><\/a> has fuelled one of the highest rates of inflation in Europe in Lithuania, hitting 22 per cent in October.<\/p>\n<h2>How much is rent for digital nomads in Vilnius?<\/h2><p>Still, rent remains cheap compared to prices elsewhere in Europe.<\/p>\n<p>A one-bedroom apartment in the dead centre of the Lithuanian <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2020//02//01//rijeka-begins-year-of-european-capital-of-culture-2020-with-opening-ceremony/">capital, Vilnius, costs \u20ac600-800 a month, though cheaper options are available towards the outskirts of town.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6103515625\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//06//39//52//88//808x493_cmsv2_d503b787-9db9-577f-bd66-1af146054f65-6395288.jpg/" alt=\"Mindaugas Kulbis&#47;Copyright 2017 The AP. All rights reserved.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/06\/39\/52\/88\/384x234_cmsv2_d503b787-9db9-577f-bd66-1af146054f65-6395288.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/06\/39\/52\/88\/640x391_cmsv2_d503b787-9db9-577f-bd66-1af146054f65-6395288.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/06\/39\/52\/88\/750x458_cmsv2_d503b787-9db9-577f-bd66-1af146054f65-6395288.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/06\/39\/52\/88\/828x505_cmsv2_d503b787-9db9-577f-bd66-1af146054f65-6395288.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/06\/39\/52\/88\/1080x659_cmsv2_d503b787-9db9-577f-bd66-1af146054f65-6395288.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/06\/39\/52\/88\/1200x732_cmsv2_d503b787-9db9-577f-bd66-1af146054f65-6395288.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/06\/39\/52\/88\/1920x1172_cmsv2_d503b787-9db9-577f-bd66-1af146054f65-6395288.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Temperatures dipped to 1 degrees Celsius (33.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Mindaugas Kulbis&#47;Copyright 2017 The AP. All rights reserved.<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>If you fancy it, a room in a flatshare in Vilnius is around \u20ac250-350 a month.<\/p>\n<p>Old soviet blocs can look a tad grim on the outside, but they were built for livability not profit, and have large and well-lit rooms.<\/p>\n<h2>What are co-working spaces like in Vilnius?<\/h2><p>Vilnius has a thriving <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//07//31//overtourism-as-digital-nomads-flock-to-mexico-city-locals-face-rising-rents/">digital nomad scene<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Love convenience and getting to know your neighbours? Vilnius has co-living spaces - self-contained blocks with shared workspaces, gyms, cinemas and sports facilities.<\/p>\n<p>Think communism but for young professionals.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"6988916,6729674\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//09//03//digital-nomads-promised-lush-forests-natural-spas-and-a-new-co-working-space-in-this-germa/">Digital nomads promised lush forests, natural spas and a new co-working space in this German town<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//05//25//lithuania-digital-nomads-work-alongside-nuns-at-this-peaceful-co-working-hub/">Lithuania: Digital nomads work alongside nuns at this peaceful co-working hub<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Co-working spaces are also hugely popular, with Vilnius having a wide variety of options.<\/p>\n<p><a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////talentgarden.org//en//coworking//lithuania//vilnius///">Talent Garden Lithuania<\/strong><\/a> is the Mecca of co-working environments. Spanning two floors, it is home to a thriving community of more than 200 young professionals, offering flexible workspaces, digital skills training and events. Plus free coffee, most importantly. Membership fees start from \u20ac189\/month + VAT.<\/p>\n<p>Other co-working spaces in Vilnius include Workland Did\u017eioji, Rock it, AltSpace and Spaces.<\/p>\n<h2>Does Lithuania have fast wifi? Is it affordable?<\/h2><p>It\u2019s well known that Lithuania has really fast <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2022//04//22//elon-musk-s-spacex-signs-first-deal-to-provide-in-flight-wifi-using-it-starlink-internet-s/">wifi. It takes fourth place in the EU and 9th in the entire world, with an average speed of 45.11 Mbps.<\/p>\n<p>Free wifi is widely available in cafes and libraries. Home internet access costs between \u20ac15 and \u20ac20 for premium packages.<\/p>\n<h2>What\u2019s it like to remote work from Lithuania?<\/h2><p>If you don\u2019t fancy a <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2021//01//30//co-working-camps-are-set-to-be-the-big-travel-trend-of-2021/">co-working space<\/strong><\/a>, there are plenty of other work locations in Vilnius. Cafes, dedicated working spaces and public libraries are all over town,<\/p>\n<p>So there are a range of places to comfortably work and study either alone or with friends.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6669921875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//18//82//08//808x539_cmsv2_7a97fa23-c8d7-5fe3-9503-078f9bc043bb-7188208.jpg/" alt=\"Mindaugas Kulbis&#47;Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/384x256_cmsv2_7a97fa23-c8d7-5fe3-9503-078f9bc043bb-7188208.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/640x427_cmsv2_7a97fa23-c8d7-5fe3-9503-078f9bc043bb-7188208.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/750x500_cmsv2_7a97fa23-c8d7-5fe3-9503-078f9bc043bb-7188208.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/828x552_cmsv2_7a97fa23-c8d7-5fe3-9503-078f9bc043bb-7188208.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/1080x720_cmsv2_7a97fa23-c8d7-5fe3-9503-078f9bc043bb-7188208.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/1200x800_cmsv2_7a97fa23-c8d7-5fe3-9503-078f9bc043bb-7188208.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/1920x1281_cmsv2_7a97fa23-c8d7-5fe3-9503-078f9bc043bb-7188208.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Candles are lit during All Saints Day at the cemetery in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Mindaugas Kulbis&#47;Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved.<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Working in Vilnius University Library is a particular treat. There is a small membership fee, but its 16th-century architecture, furniture, paintings and windows are simply beautiful.<\/p>\n<p>Note: Lithuania is <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//03//01//how-will-russia-s-invasion-of-ukraine-affect-flight-paths-journey-times-and-ticket-prices/">two hours ahead of the UK<\/strong><\/a> and one hour ahead of mainland Europe. This can give you more leeway in the morning if you have had a late night, but can hamper a quick finish to the day.<\/p>\n<h2>What is daily life like in Lithuania?<\/h2><p>Life in Lithuania is what you make it.<\/p>\n<p>Practically everyone speaks English, especially young people. So you don\u2019t need to worry about learning Lithuanian, though making an effort to learn some is always appreciated by locals.<\/p>\n<p>Lithuanian itself is an ancient, yet complex, language, sharing grammar and phonology with Sanskrit. It was first spoken between 1500 - 600 BC in <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//10//13//japan-hong-kong-china-everything-you-need-to-know-about-asias-travel-restrictions/">southeast Asia<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Even Lithuanians say they aren\u2019t the friendliest people. Small talk is not in the culture and Lithuanians know they can come across as reserved at times.<\/p>\n<p>But once the ice melts, people are kind and considerate. Like everywhere, there are friends and connections to be made.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"7156816,7075262\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2022//10//28//rave-at-its-best-can-be-a-transcendental-experience-lithuanian-djs-combat-autocracy-with-m/">/"Rave at its best can be a transcendental experience\": Lithuanian DJs combat autocracy with music<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2022//10//10//dangerous-bacteria-found-in-plastic-pollution-on-latvian-and-lithuanian-coastline/">Dangerous bacteria found in plastic pollution on Latvian and Lithuanian coastline<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>There is a budding community of ex-pats in Lithuania and the Facebook group \u2018<a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.facebook.com//groups//209733365824002///">Foreigners in Vilnius<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 is very helpful.<\/p>\n<p>Pack a coat because winters are harsh, especially from November to March. You might struggle a bit at first, especially if coming from a <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//11//10//spain-wants-to-scrap-90-day-rule-for-british-tourists-allowing-them-to-stay-indefinitely/">southern European country<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Dunking yourself in frozen lakes is a popular pastime here. Give it a try or watch in disbelief from the sidelines.<\/p>\n<p>Spring and summer are truly lovely though. Unique in European capitals, forests and parks are everywhere and always within a short walking distance.<\/p>\n<h2>What is Lithuanian food like?<\/h2><p>Like in most cold countries, Lithuanian <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2020//10//15//have-you-tried-these-unesco-recognised-food-and-drink/">cuisine isn&#039;t well known outside its borders. It is perfect for winter, if not a little unforgiving on the waistline.<\/p>\n<p>Potato pancakes, pigs ears and \u2018Cepelinai\u2019 are traditional dishes. Named after the Zeppelin airship, Cepelinai are potato dumplings stuffed with meat. They are one of the cheapest, most filling meals you\u2019ll find so perfect if you\u2019re on a budget.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6669921875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//18//82//08//808x539_cmsv2_28f22b0f-9733-535e-97cd-aac02194f57b-7188208.jpg/" alt=\"Mindaugas Kulbis&#47;Copyright 2021 The AP. All rights reserved.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/384x256_cmsv2_28f22b0f-9733-535e-97cd-aac02194f57b-7188208.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/640x427_cmsv2_28f22b0f-9733-535e-97cd-aac02194f57b-7188208.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/750x500_cmsv2_28f22b0f-9733-535e-97cd-aac02194f57b-7188208.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/828x552_cmsv2_28f22b0f-9733-535e-97cd-aac02194f57b-7188208.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/1080x720_cmsv2_28f22b0f-9733-535e-97cd-aac02194f57b-7188208.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/1200x800_cmsv2_28f22b0f-9733-535e-97cd-aac02194f57b-7188208.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/1920x1281_cmsv2_28f22b0f-9733-535e-97cd-aac02194f57b-7188208.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">A boy eats ice cream during the warm evening at the Old city in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, June 25, 2021.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Mindaugas Kulbis&#47;Copyright 2021 The AP. All rights reserved.<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Vilnius has a great array of restaurants, especially with food from former communist countries. Cha\u010dapuri is an excellent, inexpensive <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//06//19//georgias-new-glass-bridge-above-a-canyon-is-not-for-the-faint-hearted/">Georgian diner, while Viet.in\u0117s offers delicious, authentic Vietnamese food and quite an unconventional experience \u2013 you can sit and eat in the kitchen.<\/p>\n<h2>Is there good nightlife in Lithuania?<\/h2><p>There really is something for everyone in Vilnius\u2019s nightlife scene.<\/p>\n<p>The city is packed full of <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2021//07//16//world-famous-rum-bar-destroyed-in-london-flash-floods/">bars, pubs and clubs, ranging from young and trendy to old man haunts.<\/p>\n<p>If you feel like dancing all night, Loftas, Tunelis and Opium often play drum and bass, psytrance and techno music, while Salento is ideal for world music and pop.<\/p>\n<p>There are plenty of options for the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2021//08//20//polish-region-wants-to-remain-an-lgbt-free-zone-despite-risking-millions-in-eu-funds/">LGBTQ+ community<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"7180634,7159020\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//11//08//watch-lgbt-activists-stage-protest-outside-fifas-headquarters/">Watch: LGBT activists stage protest outside FIFA\u2019s headquarters<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//10//27//russia-to-tighten-laws-by-banning-lgbtq-propaganda-for-all-adults/">Russian lawmakers give early approval for ban on LGBTQ 'propaganda' for all adults<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>As for bars and pubs, Busi Trecias has a cosy vibe, with wooden interiors and board games. Make sure you try the beer cocktails.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, Plus, Plus is the cheapest watering hole in Vilnius and is regularly packed full of young people and ERASMUS students.<\/p>\n<p>A very big bonus to Vilnius is it always feels <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//06//15//how-to-survive-a-plane-crash/">safe, with women feeling comfortable walking home alone late at night.<\/p>\n<h2>What are Lithuania\u2019s tourist attractions?<\/h2><p>Lithuania has a fascinating history. Vilnius was once known as the \u2018Jerusalem of the North\u2019, owing to its large <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2021//11//07//this-dead-sea-beach-is-providing-a-salty-oasis-for-tourists-in-israel/">Jewish population.<\/p>\n<p>Walking around the mediaeval Old Town is lovely, with the area packed full of beautiful churches, parks, shops and cafes.<\/p>\n<p>There is also a quirky independent art republic in Uzupis, where people hold informal <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2022//09//14//slow-travel-this-32-hour-train-journey-lets-you-take-in-the-sights-and-party-on-board/">parties and gatherings<\/strong><\/a> by the river in the summer months.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.7021484375\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//18//82//08//808x569_cmsv2_a692a999-327e-5c4f-8fc9-4a1eee3e0066-7188208.jpg/" alt=\"JOE KLAMAR&#47;ImageForum\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/384x270_cmsv2_a692a999-327e-5c4f-8fc9-4a1eee3e0066-7188208.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/640x449_cmsv2_a692a999-327e-5c4f-8fc9-4a1eee3e0066-7188208.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/750x527_cmsv2_a692a999-327e-5c4f-8fc9-4a1eee3e0066-7188208.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/828x581_cmsv2_a692a999-327e-5c4f-8fc9-4a1eee3e0066-7188208.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/1080x758_cmsv2_a692a999-327e-5c4f-8fc9-4a1eee3e0066-7188208.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/1200x843_cmsv2_a692a999-327e-5c4f-8fc9-4a1eee3e0066-7188208.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/1920x1348_cmsv2_a692a999-327e-5c4f-8fc9-4a1eee3e0066-7188208.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Lithuania&apos;s Hill of Crosses is a popular tourist destination.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">JOE KLAMAR&#47;ImageForum<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>It is one of the only capital cities in the world where you can take a hot air balloon over the city.<\/p>\n<p>Outside of the capital, Kleapedia and Kaunas should be the first cities to tick off your <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2021//03//25//flight-to-nowhere-ukrainian-passengers-use-a-plane-for-sight-seeing-kiev/">sightseeing list.<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania is in an interesting part of the world, surrounded by countries that have a lot on offer, meaning plenty of options for international travel.<\/p>\n<p>Belarus, Latvia, Poland and Estonia are all reachable easily and cheaply by train or bus, where there is fun and sightseeing to be had.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1668180698,"publishedAt":1668183928,"updatedAt":1668616050,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/travel\/2022\/11\/11\/vilnius-is-europes-next-big-digital-nomad-destination-heres-what-you-need-to-know","programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_18390932-82a4-583e-96e6-5fc68eaf25b7-7188208.jpg","altText":"Lithuania is one of the only capital cities in the world where hot air ballooning is permitted.","caption":"Lithuania is one of the only capital cities in the world where hot air ballooning is permitted.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"PETRAS MALUKAS\/AFP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":637},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_28f22b0f-9733-535e-97cd-aac02194f57b-7188208.jpg","altText":"A boy eats ice cream during the warm evening at the Old city in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, June 25, 2021.","caption":"A boy eats ice cream during the warm evening at the Old city in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, June 25, 2021.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Mindaugas Kulbis\/Copyright 2021 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_a692a999-327e-5c4f-8fc9-4a1eee3e0066-7188208.jpg","altText":"Lithuania's Hill of Crosses is a popular tourist destination.","caption":"Lithuania's Hill of Crosses is a popular tourist destination.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"JOE KLAMAR\/ImageForum","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":719},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_ab8511e6-0855-5427-858a-20bf46b07866-7188208.jpg","altText":"A Lithuanian man eats cray fishing during a cray fish eating contest.","caption":"A Lithuanian man eats cray fishing during a cray fish eating contest.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"PETRAS MALUKAS\/AFP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1006,"height":1024},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_7a97fa23-c8d7-5fe3-9503-078f9bc043bb-7188208.jpg","altText":"Candles are lit during All Saints Day at the cemetery in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022.","caption":"Candles are lit during All Saints Day at the cemetery in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Mindaugas Kulbis\/Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/18\/82\/08\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_d7c9465d-fed6-5a3a-9243-228e399d2241-7188208.jpg","altText":"Children enjoy a light installations during the \"Festival of Lights\" celebrating the 696th anniversary of Vilnius city in Old Town in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, Jan 25, 2019.","caption":"Children enjoy a light installations during the \"Festival of Lights\" celebrating the 696th anniversary of Vilnius city in Old Town in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, Jan 25, 2019.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Mindaugas Kulbis\/Copyright 2019 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":695}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"askew","title":"Joshua Askew","twitter":"@jweaskew"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":24502,"slug":"digital-nomad","urlSafeValue":"digital-nomad","title":"digital nomad","titleRaw":"digital nomad"},{"id":27352,"slug":"cost-of-living","urlSafeValue":"cost-of-living","title":"cost of living","titleRaw":"cost of living"},{"id":21246,"slug":"rent","urlSafeValue":"rent","title":"rent","titleRaw":"rent"},{"id":21562,"slug":"prices","urlSafeValue":"prices","title":"prices","titleRaw":"prices"},{"id":20986,"slug":"internet-speed","urlSafeValue":"internet-speed","title":"Internet speed","titleRaw":"Internet speed"}],"related":[],"technicalTags":[],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":5},{"slug":"related","count":4}],"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":{"quotation":null,"description":null,"author":null},"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":null,"contentType":null,"displayOverlay":0},"displayType":"default","video":0,"videos":[],"externalPartners":[],"liveStream":[],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"","program":{"id":"destinations","urlSafeValue":"destinations","title":"Destinations","online":0,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/travel\/destinations\/destinations"},"vertical":"travel","verticals":[{"id":7,"slug":"travel","urlSafeValue":"travel","title":"Travel"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":7,"slug":"travel","urlSafeValue":"travel","title":"Travel"},"themes":[{"id":"destinations","urlSafeValue":"destinations","title":"Destinations","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/travel\/destinations"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":28,"urlSafeValue":"destinations","title":"Destinations"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"isDfp":0,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":""},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":174,"urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","url":"\/news\/europe\/lithuania"},"town":[],"versions":[],"path":"\/travel\/2022\/11\/11\/vilnius-is-europes-next-big-digital-nomad-destination-heres-what-you-need-to-know","lastModified":1668616050},{"id":2108014,"cid":7156816,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"221026_HRSU_48825030","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"grapeshot":null,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"\"Rave at its best can be a transcendental experience\": Lithuanian DJs combat autocracy with music","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Why are these Lithuanians raving for democracy?","titleListing2":"\"Rave at its best can be a transcendental experience\": Lithuanian DJs combat autocracy with music","leadin":"The Vilnius-based music collective fighting back against the creeping forces of totalitarianism.","summary":"The Vilnius-based music collective fighting back against the creeping forces of totalitarianism.","keySentence":null,"url":"rave-at-its-best-can-be-a-transcendental-experience-lithuanian-djs-combat-autocracy-with-m","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"A plucky group of Lithuanian electronic music producers have released a new album to challenge autocracy around the world. \n\nThe Antidote Community, who are based in Vilnius, have produced \u2018Sound of Freedom\u2019 as a statement against all the dictators of the world, with tracks specifically targeting autocratic leaders in Russia, Eritrea, China, Syria, North Korea, Belarus and Myanmar. \n\nThe album is brought to listeners from DJs Deri Dako, OBCDN, Maria Paskevic, Caroil, Neri J, and Calli. It samples the words of the unelected rulers set to techno beats, building on a strong tradition of techno music protest. \n\n\u201cWe had intentions to create a techno album for underground layers of society in countries ruled by dictators. Tracks in the album are quite straightforwardly against certain dictators,\u201d says Edmondas Pu\u010dkorius, manager of Antidote. \n\nVilnius is home to a burgeoning electronic music scene and the Antidote Community hopes to pay homage to this, as well as the clean-up raves which have taken place in Ukraine since the Russian invasion. \n\n\u201cFor the first time since 2004, there are more autocratic states than democracies around the world. People ruled by a dictator are gripped within an information trap: propaganda, censorship, and fake narratives,\u201d Pu\u010dkorius adds. \n\n\u201cIn the Sound of Freedom, seven music producers directly resist such dictators by appropriating their words to send a message of hope and freedom \u2014 a move that would surely get the record banned in autocracies.\u201d \n\nWhen was Lithuania a dictatorship? \n\nLithuanians are no strangers to autocracy after being annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940 and remaining behind the Iron Curtain until the 1990s. \n\nAfter the breakup of the Eastern Bloc , Lithuania and the other Baltic states joined NATO in an effort to stave off Russian domination. The countries are now fervent in their support for the Ukrainian cause and a rave was held in Vilnius to celebrate Ukraine\u2019s Independence Day this year. \n\nLithuania\u2019s separation from the Soviets was known as \u2018the Singing Revolution\u2019 due to the critical role music played in the events. It is the hope of Antidote that their music will inspire others in the fight against totalitarianism. \n\n\u201cIt's always interesting to participate in projects which go beyond regular boundaries. Especially if it contributes to some greater cause - in this case supporting democratic values and individual freedom,\u201d says Povilas Daknys aka Deri Dako. \n\n\u201cWhat special power does electronic music and raves have? \n\n\u201cGood rave at its best can be a transcendental experience - it can change the way you look at the world.\u201d \n\nThe album also features unique cover art (see below); an AI rendering of a human face called \u2018The Ultimate Dictator\u2019. The artwork is a composite portrait which combines the faces of 40 dictators. \n\n\nThe work, created by Pijus \u010ceikauskas, is on display in Vilnius Open Gallery, an open-air space in the city\u2019s New Town. \n\n\n\u201cWe wanted to identify the face of evil. To do that, we ranked countries using data from a few independent freedom and democracy indexes,\u201d says Pu\u010dkorius. \n\n\u201cForty countries with the worst results were picked. Then, using an AI visual tool, we morphed these dictators\u2019 faces into one to get the ultimate dictator, which was used as a basis to create the artwork.\u201d \n\n'Sound of Freedom' is available on Soundcloud and Bandcamp .","htmlText":"<p>A plucky group of Lithuanian electronic music producers have released a new album to challenge autocracy around the world.<\/p>\n<p>The Antidote Community, who are based in Vilnius, have produced \u2018Sound of Freedom\u2019 as a statement against all the dictators of the world, with tracks specifically targeting autocratic leaders in Russia, Eritrea, China, Syria, North Korea, Belarus and Myanmar.<\/p>\n<p>The album is brought to listeners from DJs Deri Dako, OBCDN, Maria Paskevic, Caroil, Neri J, and Calli. It samples the words of the unelected rulers set to techno beats, building on a strong tradition of techno music protest.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"6413096,6289260\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2022//01//24//kaunas-marks-the-start-of-its-programme-as-european-capital-of-culture-2022/">Kaunas marks the start of its programme as European Capital of Culture 2022<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2021//12//12//what-is-romuva-here-s-the-lowdown-on-lithuania-s-latest-state-recognised-religion/">The ancient Lithuanian religion bidding for state recognition: What next for Romuva?<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe had intentions to create a techno album for underground layers of society in countries ruled by dictators. Tracks in the album are quite straightforwardly against certain dictators,\u201d says Edmondas Pu\u010dkorius, manager of Antidote.<\/p>\n<p><a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2022//05//03//inside-uzupis-europe-s-independent-art-republic-with-its-own-constitution/">Vilnius is home to a burgeoning electronic music scene and the Antidote Community hopes to pay homage to this, as well as the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//07//25//volunteers-in-ukraine-organise-rave-clean-up-parties/">clean-up raves<\/strong><\/a> which have taken place in <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2022//10//20//zelenskyy-appears-at-frankfurt-book-fair-and-to-release-book-of-wartime-speeches/">Ukraine since the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2022//10//11//russian-pop-diva-who-denounced-war-says-she-is-in-israel/">Russian invasion.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the first time since 2004, there are more autocratic states than democracies around the world. People ruled by a dictator are gripped within an information trap: propaganda, censorship, and fake narratives,\u201d Pu\u010dkorius adds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the Sound of Freedom, seven music producers directly resist such dictators by appropriating their words to send a message of hope and freedom \u2014 a move that would surely get the record banned in autocracies.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>When was Lithuania a dictatorship?<\/h2><p>Lithuanians are no strangers to <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2022//01//12//autocrats-vs-the-arts-which-european-nations-are-cracking-down-on-their-cultural-sectors/">autocracy after being annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940 and remaining behind the Iron Curtain until the 1990s.<\/p>\n<p>After the breakup of the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2022//05//12//eurovision-versus-intervision-the-last-winner-of-the-cold-war-song-contest/">Eastern Bloc<\/strong><\/a>, Lithuania and the other Baltic states joined NATO in an effort to stave off Russian domination. The countries are now fervent in their support for the Ukrainian cause and a <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2022//06//20//what-on-earth-is-rave-aerobics/">rave was held in Vilnius to celebrate Ukraine\u2019s <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2022//08//25//ukrainian-families-and-artists-mark-independence-day-by-celebrating-cultural-ties-with-bri/">Independence Day<\/strong><\/a> this year.<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania\u2019s separation from the Soviets was known as \u2018the Singing Revolution\u2019 due to the critical role music played in the events. It is the hope of Antidote that their music will inspire others in the fight against totalitarianism.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"6665448\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2022//04//28//future-shock-get-lost-in-psychedelic-digital-worlds-in-this-new-immersive-art-exhibition/">'Future Shock': Get lost in psychedelic digital worlds in this new immersive art exhibition<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt&#039;s always interesting to participate in projects which go beyond regular boundaries. Especially if it contributes to some greater cause - in this case supporting democratic values and individual freedom,\u201d says Povilas Daknys aka Deri Dako.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat special power does electronic music and raves have?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood rave at its best can be a transcendental experience - it can change the way you look at the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The album also features unique cover art (see below); an AI rendering of a human face called \u2018The Ultimate Dictator\u2019. The artwork is a composite portrait which combines the faces of 40 dictators. <\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"1\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//15//68//16//808x808_cmsv2_3095b430-03ae-5eb3-ae32-9a6192b7cace-7156816.jpg/" alt=\"Pijus \u010ceikauskas\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/15\/68\/16\/384x384_cmsv2_3095b430-03ae-5eb3-ae32-9a6192b7cace-7156816.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/15\/68\/16\/640x640_cmsv2_3095b430-03ae-5eb3-ae32-9a6192b7cace-7156816.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/15\/68\/16\/750x750_cmsv2_3095b430-03ae-5eb3-ae32-9a6192b7cace-7156816.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/15\/68\/16\/828x828_cmsv2_3095b430-03ae-5eb3-ae32-9a6192b7cace-7156816.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/15\/68\/16\/1080x1080_cmsv2_3095b430-03ae-5eb3-ae32-9a6192b7cace-7156816.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/15\/68\/16\/1200x1200_cmsv2_3095b430-03ae-5eb3-ae32-9a6192b7cace-7156816.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/15\/68\/16\/1920x1920_cmsv2_3095b430-03ae-5eb3-ae32-9a6192b7cace-7156816.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Sound of Freedom album cover<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Pijus \u010ceikauskas<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The work, created by Pijus \u010ceikauskas, is on display in Vilnius Open Gallery, an open-air space in the city\u2019s New Town. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe wanted to identify the face of evil. To do that, we ranked countries using data from a few independent freedom and democracy indexes,\u201d says Pu\u010dkorius.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cForty countries with the worst results were picked. Then, using an AI visual tool, we morphed these dictators\u2019 faces into one to get the ultimate dictator, which was used as a basis to create the artwork.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#039;Sound of Freedom&#039; is available on <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////soundcloud.com//antidotecommunity//sets//antidote-sound-of-freedom/">Soundcloud and <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////antidotecommunity.bandcamp.com//album//sound-of-freedom/">Bandcamp./n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1666784852,"publishedAt":1666933208,"updatedAt":1666933264,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2022//10//28//rave-at-its-best-can-be-a-transcendental-experience-lithuanian-djs-combat-autocracy-with-m","programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"images":[{"url":"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//15//68//16//{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_939e14ca-4a93-50ae-ac5b-fa4c4e391458-7156816.jpg","altText":"The Antidote Community are fighting back against totalitarianism in China, Russia, Myanmar, Eritrea, Syria, North Korea and Belarus","caption":"The Antidote Community are fighting back against totalitarianism in China, Russia, Myanmar, Eritrea, Syria, North Korea and Belarus","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Edmondas Pu\u010dkorius\/The Antidote Community","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":900},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/15\/68\/16\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_3095b430-03ae-5eb3-ae32-9a6192b7cace-7156816.jpg","altText":"Sound of Music","caption":"Sound of Music","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Collective together","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":800,"height":800}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"gallagher","title":"Tim Gallagher","twitter":""}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":23228,"slug":"autocracy","urlSafeValue":"autocracy","title":"autocracy","titleRaw":"autocracy"},{"id":5020,"slug":"dictatorship","urlSafeValue":"dictatorship","title":"Dictatorship","titleRaw":"Dictatorship"},{"id":9489,"slug":"electronic-music","urlSafeValue":"electronic-music","title":"Electronic music","titleRaw":"Electronic music"},{"id":19358,"slug":"vilnius","urlSafeValue":"vilnius","title":"vilnius","titleRaw":"vilnius"},{"id":26330,"slug":"ukraine-russia-border-crisis","urlSafeValue":"ukraine-russia-border-crisis","title":"Russia's invasion of Ukraine","titleRaw":"Russia's invasion of Ukraine"}],"related":[],"technicalTags":[],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":1},{"slug":"related","count":2}],"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":{"quotation":null,"description":null,"author":null},"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":null,"contentType":null,"displayOverlay":0},"displayType":"default","video":0,"videos":[],"externalPartners":[],"liveStream":[],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"","program":{"id":"hear","urlSafeValue":"hear","title":"Hear","online":0,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/culture\/hear\/hear"},"vertical":"culture","verticals":[{"id":10,"slug":"culture","urlSafeValue":"culture","title":"Culture"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":10,"slug":"culture","urlSafeValue":"culture","title":"Culture"},"themes":[{"id":"hear","urlSafeValue":"hear","title":"Hear","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/culture\/hear"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":49,"urlSafeValue":"hear","title":"Hear"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"isDfp":0,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":""},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":174,"urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","url":"\/news\/europe\/lithuania"},"town":{"id":2202,"urlSafeValue":"vilnius-intl","title":"Vilnius Intl"},"versions":[],"path":"\/culture\/2022\/10\/28\/rave-at-its-best-can-be-a-transcendental-experience-lithuanian-djs-combat-autocracy-with-m","lastModified":1666933264},{"id":2094476,"cid":7114072,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"221014_NWSU_48658047","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"grapeshot":null,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Lithuania wants German troops 'for marriage, not one night stand'","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Lithuania wants German troops 'for marriage, not one night stand'","titleListing2":"???? Lithuania wants German troops 'for marriage, not one night stand' - a comment that's caused some consternation in the Baltic state!","leadin":"Some 3,000 German soldiers have been assigned to protect Lithuania but for the time being they'll remain in Germany.","summary":"Some 3,000 German soldiers have been assigned to protect Lithuania but for the time being they'll remain in Germany.","keySentence":null,"url":"lithuania-wants-german-troops-for-marriage-not-one-night-stand","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Politicians in Lithuania are locked in an argument about German troops being stationed in the country, and how quickly they can arrive.\u00a0 \n\nSome 3,000 German soldiers have been assigned to the Baltic state as part of a German-led NATO brigade, as the military alliance beefs up its presence in the region.\u00a0 \n\nHowever, the infrastructure is not yet in place to host all of them -- they're lacking training areas and barracks for accommodation -- so only the command element will be physically stationed in Lithuania. \n\nMeanwhile, the rest of the brigade will be on standby in Germany until needed, able to deploy within ten days, and they also plan to go to Lithuania for exercises .\u00a0\u00a0 \n\nThat's good enough for Lithuania's Defence Minister\u00a0 Arvydas Anu\u0161auskas , who told local media that any Russian build-up near the border would happen over a longer period of time than just ten days.\u00a0 \n\nOther politicians aren't so easily convinced.\u00a0 \n\nThe country's foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis \u00a0has voiced his annoyance that the agreement between the two countries calls for German troops to be stationed in Lithuania, not to arrive within ten days. \n\nAnd that's where Lithuanian President Gitanas\u00a0Naus\u0117da comes in.\u00a0 \n\nIn a media interview, he said the German army \"is not the kind of girl you can invite for a good evening by the lake in the open air\".\u00a0 \n\n\"It is a serious army that needs to be offered a marriage contract,\" he said.\u00a0 \n\nLithuania's public broadcaster LRT reports the comments drew criticism from a women's rights group which branded them \"sexist\". \n\nThe president's office has rejected public criticism of his comments.","htmlText":"<p>Politicians in Lithuania are locked in an argument about German troops being stationed in the country, and how quickly they can arrive.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Some 3,000 German soldiers have been assigned to the Baltic state as part of a German-led NATO brigade, as the military alliance beefs up its presence in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, the infrastructure is not yet in place to host all of them -- they&#039;re lacking training areas and barracks for accommodation -- so only the command element will be physically stationed in Lithuania.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the rest of the brigade will be on standby in Germany until needed, able to deploy within ten days, and they also plan to <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2022//09//05//german-soldiers-arrive-in-lithuania-to-boost-natos-eastern-flank/">go to Lithuania for exercises<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-quotation\n widget--size-fullwidth\n widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__content\">\n <blockquote class=\"widget__quote\">\n <span class=\"widget__quoteText\">German army is not the kind of girl you can invite for a good evening by the lake in the open air.<\/span>\n <\/blockquote>\n <cite class=\"widget__author\">\n <div class=\"widget__authorText\">\n Gitanas Naus\u0117da\n <\/div>\n <div class=\"widget__author_descriptionText\">\n President of Lithuania\n <\/div>\n <\/cite>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>That&#039;s good enough for Lithuania&#039;s Defence Minister\u00a0<a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////twitter.com//a_anusauskas/">Arvydas Anu\u0161auskas<\/strong><\/a>, who told local media that any Russian build-up near the border would happen over a longer period of time than just ten days.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Other politicians aren&#039;t so easily convinced.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The country&#039;s foreign minister <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////twitter.com//GLandsbergis/">Gabrielius Landsbergis<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has voiced his annoyance that the agreement between the two countries calls for German troops to be stationed in Lithuania, not to arrive within ten days.<\/p>\n<p>And that&#039;s where Lithuanian President <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////twitter.com//GitanasNauseda/">Gitanas/u00a0Naus/u0117da comes in.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In a media interview, he said the German army \"is not the kind of girl you can invite for a good evening by the lake in the open air\".\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"It is a serious army that needs to be offered a marriage contract,\" he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//07//11//40//72//808x454_cmsv2_befda947-4f7f-5636-847d-90a56176153a-7114072.jpg/" alt=\"Credit: AP Photo\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/11\/40\/72\/384x216_cmsv2_befda947-4f7f-5636-847d-90a56176153a-7114072.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/11\/40\/72\/640x360_cmsv2_befda947-4f7f-5636-847d-90a56176153a-7114072.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/11\/40\/72\/750x422_cmsv2_befda947-4f7f-5636-847d-90a56176153a-7114072.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/11\/40\/72\/828x466_cmsv2_befda947-4f7f-5636-847d-90a56176153a-7114072.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/11\/40\/72\/1080x608_cmsv2_befda947-4f7f-5636-847d-90a56176153a-7114072.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/11\/40\/72\/1200x675_cmsv2_befda947-4f7f-5636-847d-90a56176153a-7114072.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/11\/40\/72\/1920x1080_cmsv2_befda947-4f7f-5636-847d-90a56176153a-7114072.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Commander of the German Bundeswehr 41st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, Brigadier General Christian Nawrat, right, and Lithuania&apos;s President Gitanas Nauseda<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Credit: AP Photo<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Lithuania&#039;s public broadcaster LRT reports the comments drew criticism from a women&#039;s rights group which branded them \"sexist\".<\/p>\n<p>The president&#039;s office has rejected public criticism of his comments.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1665746676,"publishedAt":1665755118,"updatedAt":1665755125,"expiresAt":0,"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2022\/10\/14\/lithuania-wants-german-troops-for-marriage-not-one-night-stand","programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/11\/40\/72\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_1f2adca9-4e3b-5e42-9bbc-eb69e5742126-7114072.jpg","altText":"Soldiers of the German Bundeswehr 41st Mechanized Infantry Brigade take part in a military exercise at the Gaiziunai training ground some 130 kms west of Vilnius","caption":"Soldiers of the German Bundeswehr 41st Mechanized Infantry Brigade take part in a military exercise at the Gaiziunai training ground some 130 kms west of Vilnius","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":900},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/11\/40\/72\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_befda947-4f7f-5636-847d-90a56176153a-7114072.jpg","altText":"Commander of the German Bundeswehr 41st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, Brigadier General Christian Nawrat, right, and Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda","caption":"Commander of the German Bundeswehr 41st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, Brigadier General Christian Nawrat, right, and Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Credit: AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":900},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/07\/11\/40\/72\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_519fe2d5-51c3-5bdf-9c8a-6e59784c4c40-7114072.jpg","altText":"Soldiers of the King Mindaugas Hussars Battalion of the Lithuanian Armed Forces on exercise in Lithuania, 10 October 2022","caption":"Soldiers of the King Mindaugas Hussars Battalion of the Lithuanian Armed Forces on exercise in Lithuania, 10 October 2022","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":900}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":125,"slug":"germany","urlSafeValue":"germany","title":"Germany","titleRaw":"Germany"},{"id":7746,"slug":"lithuania","urlSafeValue":"lithuania","title":"Lithuania","titleRaw":"Lithuania"},{"id":10619,"slug":"lithuania-politics","urlSafeValue":"lithuania-politics","title":"Lithuania politics","titleRaw":"Lithuania politics"},{"id":10479,"slug":"german-army","urlSafeValue":"german-army","title":"German army","titleRaw":"German 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Prescription for Disaster: Europe faces medicine shortages crisis

In Lithuania, people have to travel across the country to get ahold of much-needed prescriptions.

13/07/2023

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Smart Health

How to prevent medicine shortages in Europe?

European countries are struggling to get ahold of essential medicine supplies for its citizens. In Lithuania, the problem is no different, and many people are growing impatient.

13/07/2023

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Lithuania

NATO chief says no timetable set for Ukraine's membership

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blasted the organisation’s failure to set a clear timetable as “absurd”.

11/07/2023

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NATO chief vows to send Ukraine 'positive' message

The US-led alliance will try to show at a summit in Vilnius its members are united in their commitment to supporting Ukraine.

11/07/2023

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Turkey gives green light to Sweden's NATO accession, says Stoltenberg

NATO secretary general says Turkey's president and the Swedish prime minister have agreed to terms to advance Stockholm's application to join the military alliance.

10/07/2023

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Five hot topics to be discussed at the Vilnius NATO summit

NATO leaders meeting in the Lithuanian capital have much to discuss, as unprecedented challenges beset the US-led military alliance.

10/07/2023

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In pictures: Vilnius Pride 2023

Here are some of the best photos from Lithuania's biggest LGBT+ event.

02/07/2023

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'We celebrate love': Lithuania's Pride defies counterprotests

"Open your heart because we all deserve love and the same rights,” one demonstrator told Euronews.

01/07/2023

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Toxic dust and earth like ash: Lithuania’s extreme weather

"I really hope this drought is a wake-up call," one meteorologist tells Euronews Green.

20/06/2023

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Turkey's political rivalries play out in unexpected places

With overseas voting taking place for the first time this year in the three Baltic States, Turkey's political tensions are playing out along old fault lines.

09/05/2023

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Sky-high NATO summit costs raise questions in Lithuania

Authorities in the Baltic country insist procurement for the upcoming summit was transparent, but costs have spiralled with Biden and Zelenskyy expected to attend.

08/05/2023

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'Far-right extremists' could police Lithuanian border under new law

New legislation will allow volunteers to use force and help make arrests on Lithuania's border, sparking fears among activists.

26/04/2023

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View Q&A: Lithuania led the way in struggle for freedom from Moscow

Today, countries like the Baltic states, Ukraine, and Poland threaten the likes of Putin because their progress makes people realise that there's an alternative to the kleptocratic regime in Moscow, Saul Anuzis told Euronews.

14/04/2023

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Lithuania

Milk and manure: Why are Lithuanian farmers so hacked off?

Lithuanian young farmers say they're giving up hope for the future of traditional livelihoods in the Baltic nation.

23/03/2023

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Brawl in Vilnius after flowers placed on destroyed Russian tank

Lithuanian police are investigating a series of incidents of Russian sympathisers bringing flowers to a destroyed Russian tank on display in the capital.

28/02/2023

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'Bodies in the forest': Missing migrants worry activists

Lithuania’s government recently approved controversial legislation to formalise pushbacks as an official policy at the Belarus border.

25/01/2023

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Gas pipeline explodes in Lithuania on day marking USSR independence

250 people have been told to evacuate from a village in northern Lithuania, according to the country's media.

13/01/2023

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Lithuania launches major campaign to boost emergency preparedness

According to the Lithuanian Interior Minister, civil safety has been neglected while threats to the country have increased.

11/01/2023

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Lost legs and dashed dreams: Europe's forgotten migrant crisis worsens

At least three migrants have had their legs amputated in recent months after trying to cross the Lithuanian-Belarus border.

22/12/2022

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Lithuanians turn used car parts into stoves to help warm Ukrainians

It comes amid frequent energy blackouts in Ukraine as Russian forces target the country's energy infrastructure ahead of winter.

15/12/2022

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Third migrant loses leg to frostbite at Lithuanian border: Reports

Earlier in November, two young Sri Lankan men had to have their legs amputated due to frostbite.

10/12/2022

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Row breaks out as Vilnius tears down Stalin-era WW2 memorial

Critics of the move say it will hand Putin a propaganda victory. Local authorities describe the monument as a painful reminder of the Soviet occupation.

02/12/2022

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Lithuania

Barefoot migrants pushed by Belarus across Lithuanian border: Minister

This follows reports that a Sri Lankan man lost his leg to frostbite after being pushed across the snowy Lithuanian border barefoot.

24/11/2022

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Is Lithuania a good place for digital nomads?

Lithuania is making a name for itself as a tempting destination for digital nomads. Here’s why.

11/11/2022

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Why are these Lithuanians raving for democracy?

The Vilnius-based music collective fighting back against the creeping forces of totalitarianism.

28/10/2022

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Lithuania

Lithuania wants German troops 'for marriage, not one night stand'

Some 3,000 German soldiers have been assigned to protect Lithuania but for the time being they'll remain in Germany.

14/10/2022