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Европа сегодня: дроны, бункеры и политический кризис: что происходит в Литве?
В среду вторжение беспилотника в Литву парализовало столицу и вынудило руководство страны укрыться в бункере. Урсула фон дер Ляйен заявила, что Европа ответит «единством и силой». Мы беседуем с министром обороны Литвы Робертасом Каунасом.
ЧИТАТЬ ДАЛЕЕ : http://ru.euronews.com/2026/05/21/europe-today-drones-bunkers-and-political-turmoil-whats-going-on-in-lithuania
Подписывайтесь: Euronews можно смотреть на Dailymotion на 12 языках
В среду вторжение беспилотника в Литву парализовало столицу и вынудило руководство страны укрыться в бункере. Урсула фон дер Ляйен заявила, что Европа ответит «единством и силой». Мы беседуем с министром обороны Литвы Робертасом Каунасом.
ЧИТАТЬ ДАЛЕЕ : http://ru.euronews.com/2026/05/21/europe-today-drones-bunkers-and-political-turmoil-whats-going-on-in-lithuania
Подписывайтесь: Euronews можно смотреть на Dailymotion на 12 языках
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00:09Субтитры сделал DimaTorzok
00:37Субтитры сделал DimaTorzok
01:00The US has signaled it will reduce the capabilities it makes available to NATO as it pivots to priorities elsewhere.
01:09Also world leaders have summoned Israeli envoys after Israel's national security minister Itamar Ben-Gavir shared a video showing him
01:19taunting handcuffed activists from the Gaza bound aid flotilla.
01:23Italy and France have described the scenes as
01:29We'll bring you the details
01:31But first, to our top story this morning
01:34The Baltics have been rattled by repeated drone incursions in recent weeks
01:39The latest being an incursion into Lithuania on Wednesday
01:43For more on this story, I'm joined on set by our EU correspondent Angela Skujins
01:48Good morning, Angela
01:49First of all, bring us up to speed on what exactly happened in Lithuania yesterday
01:54Good morning, Matt
01:55So to put it bluntly, the Baltics are on high alert
01:58Tentahooks regarding, as you rightly pointed out, what exactly happened
02:02So at 10am, civilians received a text message telling them
02:06that they should seek shelter immediately with their families
02:10The airports were ground to a halt as well as civilian traffic
02:14The Prime Minister and the President were also shuttled to a bunker underground
02:18While officials above ground scrambled to try and figure out what was going on in their skies
02:24The security incident only lasted for one hour
02:27At roughly 11am, the alert was lifted
02:30And our general understanding is that a drone entered Lithuanian airspace from the border along Belarus
02:37But it's also really important to point out that this is not a freak incident
02:40If we can take a look at this map here, we can see that there have been at least six
02:45drone incursion
02:46or suspected drone incursions since the beginning of May
02:49occurring over the skies of Latvia, Finland, Lithuania, as well as Estonia
02:55We believe that most of these drones are Ukrainian in origin
03:00However, have been pushed into European airspace via Moscow GPS jamming
03:05And given all this, Angela, what happens next and what's been the reaction from Lithuania?
03:10Yes, so we know that the European Union have been trumpeting for at least a year
03:16that according to national security services, that foreign agents such as Russia
03:22could be ready to attack the continent by 2030
03:25This is why the EU have pumped a whopping 800 billion euros into beefing up the EU's defences
03:31particularly that 3,500 kilometre border along the east
03:36The big question here, however, is whether the EU can stay one step ahead of Moscow
03:41We've seen that they've become incredibly creative when it comes to sowing panic
03:46creating division within the Baltics as well as the EU member states
03:50when it comes to supporting Ukraine
03:52I managed to speak with the Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertos Kaunas this morning
03:57and the first question I asked him was whether Moscow was successful creating the panic
04:03Yesterday, Lithuania experienced a drone incursion into our airspace
04:08but our armed forces, radars detected the drone's type object, let's say
04:15before it crossed into Lithuanian airspace
04:19so we may be able to detect it earlier
04:22NATO air police mission was activated
04:26so two Portuguese fighter jets scrambled to intercept the drone
04:32it's important to emphasize actually how crucial that NATO air police mission is in the Baltic states
04:41and here I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all NATO countries participating in this mission
04:51People were alerted about the need to go to the shelters
04:56and here no panic were detected, everyone were calm
05:01The response I think was timely
05:06This is the new actually reality what Baltic states face
05:11So we need to adapt because possible repeating of similar scenarios is very high
05:19Well, NATO eastern flank countries actually facing all NATO eastern flank countries
05:26facing similar accidents
05:28and NATO airspace has been violated multiple times in recent days
05:34So we managed to react on time correctly
05:40but we need to increase and enhance our airspace defence
05:46Minister, you mentioned there that there was no panic
05:49However, the Lithuanians that I've spoken to sound quite emotional
05:53recounting the stories of yesterday
05:55How are you going to reassure them that Lithuania is safe?
06:00Lithuania is a member of the NATO alliance
06:04We have a strong commitment from our allies
06:08that we are not alone
06:11and NATO air police mission is here
06:15Additionally, we are investing a lot in our air defence capabilities
06:20New radars are coming
06:21Part of them are already in Lithuania
06:24Interceptor drones
06:27Air defence experts from Ukraine arriving to Lithuania
06:32to help us enhance our air defence capabilities
06:35But Minister, you mentioned all of this technology to repel Russian drones
06:40They're cheap
06:41We know this
06:43But how confident are you that Lithuania can repel real Russian aggression
06:48when and if it comes
06:48we're talking about tanks rolling across the border?
06:53Our investment to our national defence needs is 5.38% of GDP
06:58It's the highest volume among all NATO countries
07:03So we are doing our homeworks
07:08That was Lithuania's Defence Minister Rupertas Kaunas there
07:12Now the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
07:15has vowed a response following the incident
07:18For more, I'm joined on set by our correspondent, Sasha Vakulina
07:22Good morning, Sasha
07:23First, tell us, what can the EU actually do in response to this threat?
07:28Well, the first thing Brussels tried to do
07:30was to reassure the Baltic States and Lithuania
07:33that the EU will stand up and respond and protect them
07:36Let's take a look at what the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had to say
07:41She said Russia's public threats against our Baltic States are completely unacceptable
07:47Let there be no doubt
07:48a threat against one member state is a threat against our entire Union
07:53But Marit, these Russia's threats towards the Baltic States are not new
07:58They are coming there for years
08:00and it is actually enough to just follow the official Kremlin statements
08:04or even Russian state-controlled media on a daily basis
08:08threatening the Baltic States, threatening Brussels, threatening Berlin
08:11or even London very openly
08:14Also, at the same time, just earlier this week
08:16Russia's foreign intelligence agency issued open threats to the Baltics
08:21under the false claims of them
08:23allegedly providing their airspace for Ukrainian droves
08:27Now, these claims have been categorically denied by both the Baltic States and Kyiv
08:31And Sasha, it seems that some countries are not only more vulnerable to this
08:35but are also more prepared than others
08:36Yes, definitely
08:37Some of them have done more of a homework, so to say
08:41specifically starting from 2022 and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine
08:46and one of these countries is Poland
08:48Now, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that these attacks and this incident
08:54are part of coordinated provocation by Moscow
08:57Let's take a listen to what he had to say
08:59I have warned many months ago and also several weeks ago
09:09that the situation could escalate
09:11not only regarding the Ukrainian-Russian war
09:13but across the entire eastern flank
09:16The Russian-Ukrainian war and Russia's aggressive policy towards Ukraine and its neighbours
09:20could soon lead to situations requiring a firm response
09:31Together with Warsaw, stock warnings were issued also by Kyiv
09:34Early on the 15th of May, President Zelensky said
09:36that their Ukrainian foreign intelligence also has the information
09:40that Russia is effectively trying to drag Belarus more into its war against Ukraine
09:46but also against possibly other countries like the Baltic States
09:50Okay, Sasha, thank you so much for that analysis
09:55We're moving on now
09:56The divisive legacy of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel
10:00was under the spotlight this week when she received an European Order of Merit
10:05But what impression is the current Chancellor Friedrich Merz making
10:10one year after he took the reins?
10:13Our Jakob Janis takes a look
10:16One year into Friedrich Merz's chancellorship
10:19the honeymoon is long gone
10:21and much of the damage is self-inflicted
10:24He recently chose the bold strategy of scolding Germany's workforce
10:28for taking too many sick days
10:31dismissing part-time jobs as a lazy lifestyle choice
10:34and even telling Germans to look to Greece to learn how to work hard
10:38A staggering historical plot twist from a leader whose country spent years lecturing Europe on efficiency, isn't it?
10:45Huh, so what went wrong?
10:49A year ago, Merz promised a conservative pro-market renewal
10:52but his center-right and center-left coalition is paralyzed by internal fighting
10:56Germany's economic recovery has completely stalled
10:59with growth projections for this year
11:02halved to just 0.5%
11:04and voters are furious over high energy costs, heavy taxes
11:09an upcoming 4 billion euro cut to the public pension system
11:12and internationally, a public swipe at Donald Trump over Iran backfired badly
11:18with the US president claiming Merz doesn't know what he's talking about
11:22and with the planned withdrawal of 5,000 US troops from Germany
11:27vital long-term security agreements look now a bit shaky
11:30and according to the recent survey
11:32Merz is now the most unpopular democratically elected leader in the world
11:37and a staggering 76% of Germans disapprove of his performance
11:42but to be fair to Merz, his job isn't easy
11:45his coalition holds a tiny parliamentary majority of just 12 seats
11:50and with his CDU party dropping to just 23% in the polls
11:54he looks more and more isolated
11:56allowing the far-right AFD to take the lead ahead of critical state elections this autumn
12:03Merz has always been seen as a man of business
12:05he promised the German people he would get the economy back on track
12:09but so far he's offering them nothing but economic tough love
12:12and longer working weeks
12:14and if his voters do not see economic results soon
12:17they will send Merz into retirement
12:19and given his notorious comments about how glad he was to escape the Amazon
12:24after last year's climate summit in Brazil
12:27it is safe to assume he won't be choosing to spend that time off in Berlin
12:37Jakob Janis reporting there
12:39now today NATO foreign ministers are in Sweden
12:43for a two-day meeting ahead of the leaders summit in Ankara in July
12:47on the agenda the urgent need to ramp up the production of weapons
12:52also high on minds is the US decision to cut its commitment to the alliance even in wartime
12:59our correspondent Shauna Murray is here with me
13:02good morning Shauna good to see you
13:04first tell us more about what the US is actually announcing
13:07and how it may impact NATO
13:09indeed so we know that over the past few weeks
13:11we heard Donald Trump saying he's removing 5,000 troops from Germany
13:15instead he cut a brigade that was due to deploy to Poland
13:18so that's not what this is
13:19he's not removing soldiers per se from NATO territory
13:22you still have around 70,000 or so
13:24what this is is the United States shrinking the pool of resources available to NATO
13:29during a time of war or an invasion
13:32so essentially within NATO we have this framework called the NATO force model
13:36that deals with deterrence and defence capabilities
13:39particularly in times of war
13:40the United States is saying we're taking away some of what can be activated
13:45if there was an invasion
13:46so this is a structural and quite fundamental
13:49take a listen to J.D. Vance the Vice President
13:51we're not talking about pulling every single American troop out of Europe
13:55we're talking about shifting some resources around
13:58in a way that maximizes American security
14:01I don't think that's bad for Europe
14:03that's encouraging Europe to take more ownership
14:06the United States cannot be the policeman of the world
14:09now he's saying that they're shifting it around
14:11but they actually are reducing it and shrinking what can be available
14:14but I think the point that he also made there is important
14:17is that the European allies have stepped up in capabilities in these areas
14:21so Mark Rutte the NATO Secretary General is saying
14:23that we've engaged with the United States about this
14:26so there won't be capability gaps per se
14:28but it is a fundamental shift Marit
14:30and at the same time Sean are concerns that the US
14:33has been burning through weapons stockpiles
14:35and that could potentially leave gaps for Europe
14:38well there's the estimation is about a billion dollars a day
14:40is being spent on the war in Iran
14:42and what's happening is the United States is like you said
14:44expending or burning through very highly critical munitions
14:48including Patriot air defence missile systems
14:50which are very expensive and very hard to produce
14:52the knock-on effect could be that the Europeans
14:56which are purchasing a lot of these weapons for use
14:58on the battlefield in Ukraine
15:00that they won't be available because the production
15:02can't keep up with the pace of the usage in Iran
15:06and as we see the Iran war is not really showing any signs of abating
15:10so the problem right now
15:11right now we know the deliveries are being made to Ukraine more or less
15:15but within the next few months if this war continues
15:17that won't be the case
15:18so here in Sweden today you'll hear from Mark Rubio
15:21US Secretary of State saying that the production needs to be ramped up even more
15:24and before the war in Iran it was pretty bad
15:27so it could get far worse Marit
15:29Okay Sean I will keep an eye out of course
15:31on that meeting happening in Sweden during the day
15:34but we're moving on now
15:36the European Union is banning nudification apps which use AI
15:40to undress individuals without their consent
15:43our Europe editor Maria Tadeo spoke to the EU's Commissioner for Tech
15:48Hena Virkunen
15:50and started by asking her if she had concerns
15:53that the move could prompt criticism from the US
15:58When it comes to that kind of nudification apps
16:00we clearly we are banning them in the European Union
16:03so it's part of our AI act and trial of negotiations
16:07we concluded two weeks ago with the co-legislators
16:10that we decided that we are banning that kind of
16:12nudification apps in the European Union
16:14Do you fear any backlash just finally on this from the US
16:17as a result of this?
16:18keeping in mind however no one has consented to this
16:21I think that these are very common concerns globally now
16:24when technology is taking bigger role
16:26that what kind of risks it's also posing
16:29and many countries are looking towards Europe
16:31that what kind of measures we are taking here
16:33because with our digital services act
16:35with our digital markets act
16:37and with our AI act
16:38we have really also set the global benchmark
16:40that we want that we have digital environment
16:43which is safe and fair and democratic
16:45and we are enforcing these rules
16:47and in the same time
16:48we want to encourage innovations and investments in this area
16:50but we want that people can trust those technologies
16:53and you can see Maria's full interview with Commissioner Virkunen on Euronews.com
17:00but now several European countries have expressed outrage
17:04after Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gavir
17:08shared a video showing him taunting activists
17:12from an aid flotilla headed for Gaza
17:15among them European citizens
17:17Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, has reacted
17:21she said, it is intolerable that these protesters
17:25among whom there are many Italian citizens
17:27are subjected to this treatment
17:29which violates human dignity
17:31we demand an apology
17:33now, earlier this week
17:35the Israeli government had accused the flotilla
17:37of breaching international law
17:39and of being a, quote
17:41PR stunt at the service of Hamas
17:44but Ben-Gavir's actions
17:45have attracted rare criticism
17:47from the Israeli government
17:49including the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
17:52who said
17:53Israel has every right
17:55to prevent provocative flotillas
17:58of Hamas terrorist supporters
17:59from entering our territorial waters
18:02and reaching Gaza
18:03however, the way that Minister Ben-Gavir
18:06dealt with the flotilla activists
18:08is not in line with Israel's values and norms
18:12well, our correspondent
18:14Vincenzo Genovese
18:16spoke to MEP Benedetta Scuderi
18:19in Strasbourg
18:19where the European Parliament sits this week
18:21and asked for her reaction
18:24We're seeing these horrible videos
18:26of the activists being beaten
18:28being forced to be on their knees
18:31being basically tortured
18:33with a minister of a state
18:36that we have a lot of relationship with
18:39shouting at them
18:40So, as Europe
18:41we need to have a strong stand
18:43That means that we really need to
18:45stop the association agreement
18:47with Israel
18:48according to Article 2
18:50because there's a clear violation
18:51of human rights for Palestinians
18:53and there's a clear violation
18:55of any kind of law and legality
18:57that is now starting to affect
18:59also European citizens
19:00and this is unacceptable
19:03And that brings today's episode to an end
19:05Thank you so much for starting your day
19:07with us here on Europe Today
19:09And if you have tips, feedback
19:11or questions for us
19:12do get in touch
19:13we'd love to hear from you
19:15You can email us at
19:16europetoday at euronews.com
19:18We'll be back again tomorrow
19:20with more news and analysis for you
19:22See you then
19:28Bye
19:52Субтитры сделал DimaTorzok
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