- 22 minutes ago
Europe Today: drony, bunkry i polityczny chaos – co się dzieje na Litwie?
Atak drona na Litwę sparaliżował Wilno i zmusił władze do zejścia do bunkra. Ursula von der Leyen zapowiada jedność i siłę Europy. Rozmawiamy z ministrem obrony Robertasem Kaunasem.
CZYTAJ WIĘCEJ : http://pl.euronews.com/2026/05/21/europe-today-drony-bunkry-i-polityczny-chaos-na-litwie
Zasubskrybuj nasz kanał.Euronews jest dostępny na Dailymotion w 12 językach
Atak drona na Litwę sparaliżował Wilno i zmusił władze do zejścia do bunkra. Ursula von der Leyen zapowiada jedność i siłę Europy. Rozmawiamy z ministrem obrony Robertasem Kaunasem.
CZYTAJ WIĘCEJ : http://pl.euronews.com/2026/05/21/europe-today-drony-bunkry-i-polityczny-chaos-na-litwie
Zasubskrybuj nasz kanał.Euronews jest dostępny na Dailymotion w 12 językach
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Dzień dobry, jest Thursday 21st May.
00:18I'm Mariet Gwyn and this is Europe Today,
00:21your morning fix of news and analysis, broadcast live from Brussels.
00:25On today's show, a drone incursion into Lithuania on Wednesday
00:30brought the capital to standstill
00:33and forced the country's leaders to shelter in a bunker.
00:36The commission boss, Ursula von der Leyen,
00:39has said Europe will respond with, quote, unity and strength.
00:43We'll speak to Lithuania's Defence Minister, Robertas Kaunas.
00:48And NATO Foreign Minister is gathered in Sweden today,
00:51where US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
00:54is expected to further encourage allies
00:57to take responsibility for their own defence.
01:00The US has signalled it will reduce the capabilities
01:04it makes available to NATO
01:06as it pivots to priorities elsewhere.
01:09Also, world leaders have summoned Israeli envoys
01:13after Israel's National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gavir,
01:17shared a video showing him taunting handcuffed activists
01:21from the Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
01:24Italy and France have described the scenes as, quote,
01:28intolerable.
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
01:38in recent weeks,
01:39the latest being an incursion into Lithuania on Wednesday.
01:44For more on this story, I'm joined on set
01:46by our EU correspondent, Angela Skujins.
01:48Good morning, Angela.
01:49First of all, bring us up to speed
01:51on what exactly happened in Lithuania yesterday.
01:54Good morning, Madden.
01:56So to put it bluntly,
01:57the Baltics are on high alert tenterhooks
01:59regarding, as you rightly pointed out,
02:01what exactly happened.
02:03So at 10 a.m., civilians received a text message
02:06telling them that they should seek shelter
02:08immediately with their families.
02:10The airports were ground to a halt
02:12as well as civilian traffic.
02:14The Prime Minister and the President
02:15were also shuttled to a bunker underground,
02:19while officials above ground scrambled
02:21to try and figure out what was going on in their skies.
02:24The security incident only lasted for one hour.
02:27At roughly 11 a.m., the alert was lifted.
02:30And our general understanding is
02:31that a drone entered Lithuanian airspace
02:34from the border along Belarus.
02:37But it's also really important to point out
02:39that this is not a freak incident.
02:40If we can take a look at this map here,
02:42we can see that there have been
02:43at least six drone incursion
02:46or suspected drone incursions
02:48since the beginning of May
02:49occurring over the skies of Latvia, Finland,
02:53Lithuania, as well as Estonia.
02:55We believe that most of these drones
02:58are Ukrainian in origin,
03:00however, have been pushed
03:01into European airspace
03:03by Moscow GPS jamming.
03:05And given all this, Angela,
03:07what happens next?
03:08And what's been the reaction from Lithuania?
03:10Yes, so we know that the European Union
03:13have been trumpeting for at least a year
03:16that according to national security services,
03:20that foreign agents such as Russia
03:22could be ready to attack the continent by 2030.
03:25This is why the EU have pumped
03:27a whopping 800 billion euros
03:29into beefing up the EU's defences,
03:31particularly that 3,500 kilometre border
03:35along the east.
03:37The big question here, however,
03:38is whether the EU can stay
03:40one step ahead of Moscow.
03:41We've seen that they've become
03:43incredibly creative
03:44when it comes to sowing panic,
03:46creating division within the Baltics,
03:48as well as the EU member states
03:50when it comes to supporting Ukraine.
03:52I managed to speak with the Lithuanian Defence Minister
03:56Robertus Kaunas this morning,
03:57and the first question I asked him
03:59was whether Moscow was successful
04:01creating the panic.
04:03Yesterday, Lithuania experienced
04:05a drone incursion into our airspace,
04:08but our armed forces radars detected
04:12the drone's type object, let's say,
04:15before it crossed into Lithuania airspace,
04:18so we may be able to detect it earlier.
04:23NATO air police mission was activated,
04:26so two Portuguese fighter jets
04:29scrimmated to intercept the drone.
04:32It's important to emphasize, actually,
04:35how crucial that NATO air police mission
04:39is in the Baltic states.
04:41And here I would like to express
04:44my sincere appreciation
04:47to all NATO countries
04:48participating in this mission.
04:52People were alerted
04:54about the need to go to their shelters,
04:56and here no panic were detected.
05:00Everyone were calm.
05:02The response, I think, was timely.
05:07This is the new, actually, reality
05:09what Baltic states face.
05:11So we need to adapt
05:12because possible repeating
05:15of similar scenarios is very high.
05:20Well, NATO eastern flank countries,
05:23actually facing all NATO eastern flank countries,
05:26facing similar accidents,
05:28and NATO airspace has been violated
05:32multiple times in recent days.
05:34So we managed to react
05:38on time correctly,
05:41but we need to increase
05:43and enhance our airspace defence.
05:46Minister, you mentioned there
05:48that there was no panic.
05:49However, the Lithuanians
05:51that I've spoken to
05:52sound quite emotional
05:53recounting the stories of yesterday.
05:56How are you going to reassure them
05:57that Lithuania is safe?
06:00Lithuania is a member
06:02of NATO alliance.
06:04We have a strong commitment
06:07from our allies
06:08that we are not alone,
06:12and NATO air police mission is here.
06:15Additionally, we're investing a lot
06:18in our air defence capabilities.
06:20New radars are coming.
06:21Part of them are already in Lithuania.
06:25Interceptor drones,
06:27air defence experts from Ukraine
06:30arriving to Lithuania
06:32to help us enhance
06:33our air defence capabilities.
06:36But, Minister,
06:36you mentioned all of this technology
06:39to repel Russian drones.
06:40They're cheap.
06:42We know this.
06:43But how confident are you
06:44that Lithuania can repel
06:46real Russian aggression
06:48when and if it comes
06:48we're talking about tanks
06:50rolling across the border?
06:54Our investments
06:55with our national defence needs
06:56is 5.38% of GDP.
06:58It's the highest volume
07:01among all NATO countries.
07:04So, we are doing our homeworks.
07:09That was Lithuania's
07:10defence minister
07:11Rupertas Kaunas there.
07:13Now, the European Commission
07:14President Ursula von der Leyen
07:15has vowed a response
07:17following the incident.
07:19For more, I'm joined on set
07:20by our correspondent
07:21Sasha Vakulina.
07:22Good morning, Sasha.
07:23First, tell us
07:24what can the EU actually do
07:26in response to this threat?
07:28Well, the first thing
07:29Brussels tried to do
07:30was to reassure
07:31the Baltic states
07:32and Lithuania
07:33that the EU will stand up
07:35and respond and protect them.
07:36Let's take a listen
07:37take a look
07:38at what the President
07:39of the Commission
07:39Ursula von der Leyen
07:40had to say.
07:42She said,
07:42Russia's public threats
07:43against our Baltic states
07:45are completely unacceptable.
07:47Let there be no doubt
07:48a threat against
07:49one member state
07:50is a threat
07:51against our entire union.
07:54But, Meryl,
07:55these Russia's threats
07:56towards the Baltic states
07:57are not new.
07:58They are coming there
07:59for years
08:00and it is actually enough
08:01to just follow
08:02the official Kremlin statements
08:04or even Russian state-controlled media
08:06on daily basis
08:08threatening the Baltic states,
08:09threatening Brussels,
08:10threatening Berlin
08:11or even London
08:12very openly.
08:14Also, at the same time,
08:15just earlier this week,
08:16Russia's foreign intelligence agency
08:19issued open threats
08:21to the Baltics
08:21under the false claims
08:22of them allegedly
08:24providing their airspace
08:25for Ukrainian droids.
08:27Now, these claims
08:27have been categorically denied
08:29by both the Baltic states
08:30and Kyiv.
08:31And, Sasha,
08:32it seems that some countries
08:33are not only more vulnerable
08:34to this
08:35but are also more prepared
08:36than others.
08:37Definitely.
08:38Some of them have done
08:38more of homework,
08:41so to say,
08:41specifically starting
08:42from 2022
08:44and Russia's full-scale
08:45invasion of Ukraine.
08:46And one of these countries
08:47is Poland.
08:48Now, Polish Prime Minister
08:49Donald Tusk
08:50said that these attacks
08:52and this incident
08:54are part of coordinated provocation
08:57by Moscow.
08:58Let's take a listen
08:58to what he had to say.
09:05I have warned
09:06many months ago
09:07and also several weeks ago
09:09that the situation
09:10could escalate,
09:11not only regarding
09:12the Ukrainian-Russian war
09:13but across the entire
09:15eastern flank.
09:16The Russian-Ukrainian war
09:17and Russia's aggressive policy
09:19towards Ukraine
09:20and its neighbours
09:20could soon lead
09:22to situations
09:23requiring a firm response.
09:30together with Warsaw
09:32stock warnings
09:33were issued
09:33also by Kyiv
09:34early on the 15th of May
09:35President Zelensky
09:36said that their
09:37Ukrainian foreign intelligence
09:38also has the information
09:40that Russia
09:40is effectively
09:41trying to drag
09:42Belarus
09:43more into
09:44its war
09:45against Ukraine
09:46but also
09:47against possibly
09:48other countries
09:49like the Baltic states.
09:51Okay, Sasha,
09:52thank you so much
09:52for that analysis.
09:55We're moving on now.
09:56The divisive legacy
09:58of former German Chancellor
09:59Angela Merkel
10:00was under the spotlight
10:02this week
10:02when she received
10:03an European Order
10:04of Merit.
10:05But what impression
10:06is the current Chancellor
10:08Friedrich Merz
10:09making
10:10one year
10:11after he took
10:12the reins?
10:13Our Jakob Janis
10:14takes a look.
10:16One year
10:17into Friedrich Merz's
10:18chancellorship the
10:19honeymoon is
10:20long gone and
10:21much of the damage is
10:23self-inflicted. He
10:25recently chose the
10:25bold strategy of
10:27scolding Germany's
10:28workforce for taking
10:29too many
10:30sick days dismissing
10:31part-time jobs as a
10:33lazy lifestyle choice and even
10:35telling Germans to look
10:36to Greece to learn
10:37how to work hard. A staggering
10:39historical plot
10:40twist from a
10:41leader whose country
10:42spent years
10:42lecturing
10:43Europe
10:43on efficiency,
10:44isn't it?
10:45Huh,
10:46so what went wrong?
10:49A year ago
10:50Merz promised
10:50a conservative
10:51pro-market renewal
10:52but his center-right
10:54and center-left coalition
10:55is paralyzed
10:55by internal fighting.
10:57Germany's economic recovery
10:58has completely stalled
11:00with growth projections
11:01for this year
11:02halved to just 0.5%
11:04and voters
11:06are furious
11:06over high energy costs,
11:08heavy taxes
11:09and upcoming
11:104 billion euro cut
11:11to the public pension system
11:12and internationally
11:14a public swipe
11:15at Donald Trump
11:16over Iran
11:17backfired badly
11:18with the US president
11:19claiming Merz
11:20doesn't know
11:21what he's talking about
11:22and with the planned withdrawal
11:24of 5,000 US troops
11:26from Germany
11:27vital long-term security agreements
11:29look now a bit shaky
11:30and according to the recent survey
11:32Merz is now
11:34the most unpopular
11:35democratically elected leader
11:36in the world
11:37and a staggering 76%
11:39of Germans
11:40disapprove of his performance.
11:42But to be fair to Merz
11:44his job isn't easy.
11:45His coalition holds
11:47a tiny parliamentary majority
11:48of just 12 seats
11:50and with his CDU party
11:52dropping to just 23%
11:53in the polls
11:54he looks more
11:55and more isolated
11:56allowing the far-right AFD
11:59to take the lead
12:00ahead of critical state elections
12:01this autumn.
12:03Merz has always been seen
12:04as a man of business.
12:06He promised the German people
12:07he would get the economy
12:08back on track
12:09but so far
12:10he's offering them
12:11nothing but economic tough love
12:12and longer working weeks
12:14and if his voters
12:16do not see economic results soon
12:17they'll send Merz
12:19into retirement
12:19and given his notorious comments
12:22about how glad he was
12:23to escape the Amazon
12:24after last year's
12:26climate summit in Brazil
12:27it is safe to assume
12:29he won't be choosing
12:30to spend that time off
12:31in Berlin.
12:37Jakob Janis reporting there.
12:39Now today
12:40NATO foreign ministers
12:42are in Sweden
12:43for a two-day meeting
12:44ahead of the leader summit
12:45in Ankara in July.
12:47On the agenda
12:48the urgent need
12:49to ramp up
12:50the production of weapons
12:52also high on minds
12:54is the US decision
12:55to cut its commitment
12:57to the alliance
12:57even in wartime.
12:59Our correspondent
13:00Shona Murray is here with me
13:02good morning Shona
13:02good to see you
13:04first tell us more
13:05about what the US
13:06is actually announcing
13:07and how it may impact NATO.
13:10Indeed
13:10so we know that
13:11over the past few weeks
13:11we heard Donald Trump
13:12saying he's removing
13:135,000 troops from Germany
13:15instead he cut a brigade
13:16that was due to deploy
13:17to Poland
13:18so that's not what this is
13:19he's not removing soldiers
13:20per se from NATO territory
13:22he still have around
13:2370,000 or so
13:24what this is
13:25is the United States
13:26shrinking the pool
13:27of resources
13:28available to NATO
13:29during a time of war
13:31or an invasion
13:32so essentially within NATO
13:33we have this framework
13:34called the NATO force model
13:36that deals with deterrence
13:37and defence capabilities
13:39particularly in times of war
13:40the United States
13:41is saying
13:42we're taking away
13:43some of what can be activated
13:45if there was an invasion
13:46so this is a structural
13:48and quite fundamental
13:49take a listen to
13:50J.D. Vance
13:50the vice president
13:51we're not talking about
13:53pulling every single
13:54American troop
13:55out of Europe
13:55we're talking about
13:57shifting some resources around
13:58in a way that maximises
14:00American security
14:01I don't think that's bad
14:03for Europe
14:03that's encouraging Europe
14:05to take more ownership
14:06the United States
14:07cannot be the policeman
14:08of the world
14:09now he's saying
14:10that they're shifting it around
14:11but they actually are
14:11reducing it
14:12and shrinking
14:13what can be available
14:14but I think the point
14:15that he also made
14:16there is important
14:17is that the European allies
14:18have stepped up
14:19in capabilities
14:20in these areas
14:21so Mark Rutte
14:22the NATO Secretary General
14:23is saying
14:23that we've engaged
14:24with the United States
14:25about this
14:26so there won't be
14:27capability gaps per se
14:28but it is a fundamental shift
14:30Marit
14:30and at the same time
14:31Shauna concerns
14:32that the US
14:33has been burning
14:34through weapons stockpiles
14:35and that could potentially
14:37leave gaps for Europe
14:38well there's
14:38the estimation is
14:39about a billion dollars a day
14:40has been spent
14:41on the war in Iran
14:42and what's happening
14:42is the United States
14:43is like you said
14:44expending or burning
14:45through very highly
14:46critical munitions
14:47including Patriot Air
14:49Defence missile systems
14:50which are very expensive
14:51and very hard to produce
14:52the knock-on effect
14:54could be that
14:55the Europeans
14:56which are purchasing
14:57a lot of these weapons
14:58for use on the battlefield
14:59in Ukraine
15:00that they won't be available
15:01because the production
15:02can't keep up
15:03with the pace
15:04of the usage in Iran
15:06and as we see
15:06the Iran war
15:07has not really shown
15:08any signs of abating
15:10so the problem
15:10right now
15:11well right now
15:12we know the deliveries
15:13are being made
15:13to Ukraine more or less
15:15but within the next few months
15:16if this war continues
15:18that won't be the case
15:19so here at Sweden today
15:20you'll hear from
15:21Marco Rubio
15:21US Secretary of State
15:22saying that the production
15:23needs to be ramped up
15:24even more
15:24and before the war
15:25in Iran
15:26it was pretty bad
15:27so it could get
15:28far worse
15:29Marid
15:29Okay Shauna
15:30we'll keep an eye out
15:31of course
15:31on that meeting
15:32happening in Sweden
15:33during the day
15:34but we're moving on now
15:36the European Union
15:37is banning
15:38nudification apps
15:39which use AI
15:40to undress individuals
15:42without their consent
15:44our Europe editor
15:45Maria Tadeos
15:46spoke to the EU's
15:47Commissioner for Tech
15:48Hena Virkunen
15:50and started by asking her
15:52if she had concerns
15:53that the move
15:54could prompt
15:55criticism
15:55from the US
15:57When it comes to
15:58that kind of
15:59notification apps
16:00we clearly
16:01we are banning
16:02them in the European Union
16:03so it's part of
16:04our AI Act
16:05and trial
16:06of negotiations
16:07we concluded
16:08two weeks ago
16:09with the co-legislators
16:10that we decided
16:11that we are banning
16:11that kind of
16:12notification apps
16:13in the European Union
16:14Do you fear any
16:15backlash
16:15just finally
16:16on this
16:16from the US
16:17as a result of this
16:18keeping in mind
16:19however
16:19no one has
16:19consented to this
16:21I think that
16:21these are very
16:22common concerns
16:24globally now
16:25when technology
16:25is taking
16:26bigger role
16:26that what kind
16:27of risks
16:28it's also posing
16:29and many countries
16:30are looking
16:30towards Europe
16:31that what kind
16:32of measures
16:32we are taking
16:33here
16:33because with
16:34our
16:34digital services
16:35act
16:35with our
16:36digital markets
16:36act
16:37and with our
16:37AI act
16:38we have really
16:38also set
16:39the global
16:39benchmark
16:40that we want
16:41that we have
16:42digital environment
16:43which is safe
16:44and fair
16:44and democratic
16:45and we are
16:46enforcing these rules
16:47and in the same time
16:48we want to
16:48encourage innovations
16:49and investments
16:50in this area
16:50but we want
16:51that people
16:52can trust
16:52those technologies
16:55And you can see
16:56Maria's full interview
16:57with Commissioner Virkunen
16:59on Euronews.com
17:00But now
17:01several European
17:02countries
17:03have expressed
17:04outrage
17:04after Israel's
17:05national security
17:06minister
17:07Itamar Ben-Gavir
17:08shared a video
17:10showing him
17:11taunting activists
17:12from an aid
17:13flotilla
17:13headed for Gaza
17:15among them
17:16European citizens
17:17Georgia Meloni
17:19the Italian
17:19prime minister
17:20has reacted
17:21She said
17:22It is intolerable
17:24that these
17:25protesters
17:25among whom
17:26there are many
17:26Italian citizens
17:27are subjected
17:28to this treatment
17:29which violates
17:30human dignity
17:31We demand
17:32an apology
17:33Now
17:34earlier this week
17:35the Israeli
17:36government
17:36had accused
17:37the flotilla
17:37of breaching
17:38international law
17:39and of being
17:40a
17:40PR stunt
17:42at the service
17:43of Hamas
17:44But Ben-Gavir's
17:45actions
17:45have attracted
17:46rare criticism
17:47from the Israeli
17:49government
17:49including
17:50the Prime Minister
17:51Benjamin Netanyahu
17:52who said
17:53Israel has
17:54every right
17:56to prevent
17:56provocative flotillas
17:58of Hamas
17:58terrorist supporters
17:59from entering
18:00our territorial waters
18:02and reaching Gaza
18:03however
18:03the way
18:05that Minister
18:05Ben-Gavir
18:06dealt with
18:07the flotilla
18:07activists
18:08is not
18:09in line
18:10with Israel's
18:11values
18:11and norms
18:12Well
18:13our correspondent
18:14Vincenzo Genovese
18:16spoke to
18:17MEP
18:17Benedetta Scuderi
18:19in Strasbourg
18:19where the European
18:20Parliament sits
18:21this week
18:21and asked
18:22for her reaction
18:24We're seeing
18:25these horrible
18:26videos
18:26of the activists
18:27being beaten
18:28being forced
18:30to be on their knees
18:31being basically
18:33tortured
18:33with a minister
18:35of a state
18:36that we have
18:37a lot of relationship
18:38with
18:39shouting at them
18:40So
18:40as Europe
18:41we need to have
18:42a strong stand
18:43That means
18:44that we really need
18:45to stop
18:46the association
18:47agreement
18:47with Israel
18:48according to
18:49Article 2
18:50because there's
18:51a clear violation
18:51of human rights
18:53for Palestinians
18:53and there's
18:54a clear violation
18:55of any kind
18:56of law
18:56and legality
18:57that is now
18:58starting to affect
18:59also European citizens
19:00and this is
19:01unacceptable
19:03And that brings
19:04today's episode
19:05to an end
19:05Thank you so much
19:06for starting
19:07your day
19:07with us here
19:08on Europe Today
19:09And if you have
19:10tips, feedback
19:11or questions
19:12for us
19:13do get in touch
19:13we'd love to hear
19:14from you
19:15You can email us
19:16at
19:16europetoday
19:16at
19:17euronews.com
19:18We'll be back
19:19again tomorrow
19:20with more news
19:20and analysis
19:21for you
19:22See you then
19:26We'll be right back
19:28next time
19:43We'll be right back
19:45next time
20:01Dzięki za oglądanie!
Comments