EU Report

The Croatian president, who opposes assistance to Ukraine, was re-elected for a new term. The incumbent President of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, won the second round of the presidential election, gaining 74.68% of the vote. His rival, the candidate from the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, Dragan Primorac, received 25.34% of the vote, the turnout was 44.16%. This follows from the data of the State Election Commission of the country. "I take this as an approval of my work over the past five years, a sign of trust in me," Milanovic commented on his victory. In the first round of elections, which took place on December 29, Milanovic lacked 1% for re-election (he won 49.1% of the vote). Primorac, who called the incumbent president a threat to Croatia, then received 19.35% of the vote. After the publication of the results of the second round of elections, Primorac conceded defeat. "The citizens of Croatia have spoken out, and we need to respect their decision." Milanovic has been president of the country since February 2020. Prior to that, he headed the Social Democratic Party of Croatia. Milanovic has repeatedly criticized Ukraine, stating that it is "the most corrupt country in the world," and also opposed the assistance of the European Union and NATO to Kyiv. In addition, Milanovic refused to support Croatia's participation in the NATO Security and Training Assistance Program for Ukraine (NSATU). The government failed to pass a decision on participation in the program through parliament, which is why Croatia and Hungary are still the only EU member states that are members of NATO that do not participate in the NSATU. Against this background, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković labeled Milanovic as pro-russian and called him "the poodle of Putin." In turn, Milanovic regularly accuses Plenković and his conservative HDZ of systemic corruption and accused the current head of government of being a "Ukrainian agent." n addition, he criticized the EU constantly as “in many ways non-democratic” and "run by unelected officials," and vowed to "work on changing it, as much as I can as the president of a small nation.” According to him, the EU takes the position that “if you don’t think the same as I do, then you’re the enemy” and this amounts to “mental violence.” Though the presidency is largely ceremonial in Croatia, an elected president holds political authority and acts as the supreme military commander. Political analysts don't expect the increasingly outspoken Milanović to cooperate with the government as he has no motive to “try to please someone or try to control himself.” 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇭🇷

Poland closed the airspace for the plane of parliamentarians from Slovakia flying to Russia. Poland closed its skies for the plane of the delegation of the Slovak parliament, which was heading to Moscow. As a result, the liner had to fly to the Russian capital bypassing - through the Czech Republic and Germany, said Andrei Danko, Deputy Speaker of the Slovak National Council. "I do not understand this approach of Poland, but in any case I perceive it as a reality." The delegation consists of more than 10 people, including the head of the parliamentary committee on international affairs Marian Keri and the head of the committee on defense and security Richard Glyk. Meetings are scheduled with the chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin and Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko, writes russian state controlled media. Earlier, Danko claimed that this working trip would help restore relations between Slovakia and Russia. According to him, the visit will be "a continuation of the dialogue" that was started by the Prime Minister of the Republic Robert Fico. One of the topics will be "cooperation in the energy sector." 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇸🇰

Addition to previous report Sweden will send three warships and a reconnaissance aircraft to protect infrastructure in the Baltic Sea Sweden will provide three warships and an air force aircraft for NATO's operation to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said, Yle reports. As for the aircraft, we are talking about the ASC 890 - the so-called flying radar. At the opening of the annual security conference in Selena, Kristersson announced this decision and noted that Sweden will provide its armed forces to the alliance for defense and deterrence in the region for the first time as a NATO member. "Sweden is not at war, but there is no peace either," the prime minister described the current situation. The cable breaks in the Baltic Sea are unlikely to have happened by accident. He warned that Sweden and its neighbors would face new "hybrid attacks," including sabotage, disinformation and cyber hacking. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇸🇪

Vučić: US demands a complete exist of Russian capital from the Serbian oil company NIS. NIS came under secondary US sanctions on January 10 due to ties with Gazprom Neft. The Russian company, together with Gazprom, owns 56.15% of the shares of NIS, while only 29.87% remain the property of Serbia. According to the Serbian president, the American side does not accept a partial stake of the Russian share, including 49% or less. "We have a deadline of 45 days, until February 25, to complete all operations to change ownership structure," Vučić stressed. New U.S. sanctions against Russia target Serbia’s main gas company over ownership, at the same time that Azerbaijan claims to not be able to deliver its promised supply. Earlier, Vučić announced Belgrade's readiness to buy out the Russian share, which is estimated at about 700 million euros. However, he expressed fears that the American administration may have questions about how the Russian side will dispose of the funds received. Vučić recalled that NIS was sold to Russia's Gazprom Neft by the Serbian government in 2008. Since then, it has become a significant source of revenue for the Serbian budget and has played a key role in the implementation of numerous projects in the country. On January 10, not only NIS, but also more than two dozen subsidiaries of Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz fell under US sanctions. The blacklist also includes companies from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. According to the Serbian president, Belgrade intends to appeal to the Trump administration with a request to reconsider or soften the decision on sanctions against the NIS. Serbia has faced long-standing criticism for allowing Gazprom Neft to hold a 50 percent stake and Gazprom an additional 6.15 percent in its national gas and oil provider. Ultimately, the U.S. sanctions could dismantle one of the key pillars of the Kremlin’s influence in Serbia, known for its friendly ties and strong public support for Russia. Yet the question on everyone’s mind is why Baku decided to deliver a blow at the same time, despite the friendly ties between Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Vučić. As "the timing of the Azerbaijani ban is certainly awkward" some speculate that this could be an attempt by Moscow to exercise pressure on Serbia via Azerbaijan. While Baku has officially denied transporting Russian gas via the Southern Gas Corridor, it is widely believed to act as a rerouting channel, and "the relationship between Moscow and Baku is extremely opportunistic but also subject to oscillations." @freerussia_report 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇷🇸

The Georgian Nightmare Party is fighting the "Deep State" in the interest of the EU, democracy and to avoid the "Ukrainization of Georgia" "Trump’s successful task of dismantling the “Deep State” can ensure a qualitative reset of Georgian-American relations, which, we believe, is equally in the interests of both Georgia and the United States", – reads the statement released by the Georgian Nightmare political council. The statement says that without exception, every specific politician and bureaucrat who is distinguished by anti-Georgian statements, be it the president, prime minister, parliamentarian, MEP, diplomat or official, is a member of the “Deep State” network, which acts not in the interests of the American or European people, but at the behest of the 'Global War Party'. “Dismantling the metastases of the ‘Deep State’ in Europe will take relatively more time. As Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán noted, ‘Soros lost Washington with the election of President Trump, but Brussels is still in his hands.’” Naturally, Soros does not mean a specific person, but the oligarchic network behind the “Deep State.” “Dismantling the European metastases of the ‘Deep State’ is a necessary condition for resetting Georgia-EU relations. The result of the activity of these metastases is not only the current anti-Georgian policy of the EU bureaucracy, but also the harsh LGBT propaganda and migration policy, which are consistently making EU countries lose their identity and thus directly threatening our country. We hope that by 2030, the EU will completely overcome the problem of informal oligarchic influence and the ‘Deep State,’ which will create the appropriate conditions for Georgia’s accession to the EU. In addition, Georgia should not only passively wait for changes in the EU, but should also actively contribute to overcoming the problems facing the EU." In addition the Georgian Nightmare party claims that the “Deep State” punishes Ivanishvili for peace – but of course no one can scare Georgian people with sanctions "As long as there is a first front in Ukraine, there will always be an interest in a second front in Georgia. This is precisely what the sanctions that specific states, at the behest of the Global War Party and with the help of the “Deep State,” impose on Georgian politicians and officials are related to. The Georgian people must fight to the end to survive and prevent the Ukrainization of Georgia. By doing so, we will also do a good deed for Europe, the majority of countries of which are currently playing the ‘Deep State’ game and are unable to protect their own national interests, – it pontifies further. The statement also claims that the “Deep State” is punishing Bidzina Ivanishvili for peace, which “Georgian society sees very well.” It says "Bidzina Ivanishvili is being sanctioned for replacing bloody authoritarianism with democratic rule in Georgia, ending the systematic practice of torture and murder, business racketeering, media capture, and election fraud, increasing the country’s economy from 28 billion to 90 billion, and bringing 12 years of uninterrupted peace to Georgia." “The fact is that over the past four years, it has been the ‘Deep State” that has been destroying not only America, but also many countries around the world. The ‘Deep State’ has created the most serious economic problems for the European Union. The ‘Deep State’ has engulfed many countries around the world in the flames of war. Georgia has so far survived the Ukrainian scenario as a result of great efforts and an uncompromising struggle, however, the fight for peace continues and this fight must be brought to an end." So, guess who is behind all that? "It is noteworthy that sanctions against Georgia were first imposed by the hands of the Ukrainian government, whose top officials openly called on the Georgian government to open a second front. This was followed by sanctions by the Baltic states, which have practically lost their sovereignty and are forced to act entirely at the behest of the ‘Deep State’." 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇪

The AfD congress refused to condemn Russian aggression and promised to launch Russian gas supplies to Germany if they win the elections. The congress of the far-right German party Alternative for Germany (AfD), held on the eve of early elections to the Bundestag, refused to condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine, and its candidate for chancellor, Alice Weidel, promised to re-establish Germanys energy dependence on Russia by restarting the delivery of Russian gas through Nord Streams if she wins. She also promised to fight domestic energy production by wind farms: "When we are at the helm, we will demolish all wind turbines. Down with these windmills of shame!" One of its founders, Albrecht Glaser, even proposed to include a clause condemning aggression in the party's manifesto, but couldn't bring the delegates to approve it. The congress also approved the candidacy of the head of the party, Alice Weidel, for the post of Chancellor of Germany. She said that she would return the Nord Stream gas pipeline to operation. Weidel also accused the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of copying the AfD's election program and called it a "party of crooks." Weidel is in a same-sex partnership with Sarah Bossard, a film producer from Sri Lanka, but opposes same-sex marriage, insisting others should "respect traditional gender roles." She also calls for the suspension of funds for social assistance to foreigners and wants to expel migrants en masse. The AfD is supported by American businessman Elon Musk, who said that only this party "can save Germany." According to German media, at the federal level, the AfD's popularity is around 18-19%, especially high in the former east Germany which was occupied by the Soviets (West: 13,7% /East: 26,9%). 🇪🇺@EU_Report🇩🇪 @freerussia_report

Addition to previous report The Oil tanker drifting in the Baltic Sea towed off the German port of Sassnitz The towing of an oil tanker that drifted off the coast of Germany has been completed, reports Der Spiegel. The faulty oil tanker arrived early Sunday, pulled by three tugboats, off the German port of Sassnitz. The Eventin, which has been drifting off the island of Rügen since Thursday evening, began on Saturday to move about 25 kilometres to the east in order to have more open seas around it in the event of an oil spill. Now the ship is standing about five kilometers from the coast, where it is supposed to remain until further action is decided. The unsteered tanker, reportedly part of the Russian shadow fleet and with estimated with 99,000 tonnes of oil, is held in place by two tugboats. So far, however, no oil has been detected leaking into the water. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇩🇪

Court forbids Briton from searching for lost drive containing 8,000 bitcoins in landfill. In 2013, his ex-girlfriend accidentally threw away the hard drive. Since then, Howell has been searching for it in landfills for almost 10 years, “battling” with landfill management and the city mayor for the right to dig through the trash. He was trying to reclaim his lost fortune, which is now valued at more than $750 million. The story has already been circulated on the internet several times, but now the court has officially banned him from digging through the trash. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇧

Blocking of Youtube in Russia exploded video views in the Netherlands. The traffic of users of the video service in the Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia, Finland, Serbia and other countries has risen sharply. In these countries, VPN servers are often installed to help bypass the blocking of Roskomnadzor websites. According to Google's Transparency Report, YouTube traffic in the Netherlands stagnated until August, but after the start of the blocking in Russia, a sharp surge in traffic began. The YouTube viewing rate in the Netherlands increased from August 8 to December 31 by 58.3%, in Slovakia - by 22%, in Serbia - by 20% , in Finland - by 19.5%, in Germany this by 18%. The particularly sharp increase in traffic in the Netherlands may be due to the fact that it is home to the servers of many major VPN services: NordVPN, ExpressVPN, VyprVPN, IPVANISH, Pure VPN, TotalVPN, and others. Therefore, for a country with 18 million inhabitants, a sharp increase in traffic from Russia is more noticeable than for Germany with 84 million. In Russia, video service traffic collapsed by 64% in two waves, from August 8 and from December 19. The first restrictions concerned mainly the desktop version of YouTube, but on December 19, they spread to the mobile version. @freerussia_report

Thousands of Slovaks held a rally against rapprochement with Russia. Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Bratislava on Friday to express outrage at Prime Minister Robert Fico's policy of rapprochement with the Kremlin. The protesters held posters and chanted slogans against the course of the head of the Slovak government, reports Reuters. The organizers of the protest in Bratislava estimated that 15,000 people protested in the Slovak capital Bratislava. Last month, while the possibility of Russian gas supplies to Slovakia was still being discussed, Fico traveled to Moscow to meet with Putin and discuss the possibility of maintaining gas supplies that would benefit Bratislava. Fico argued with Ukraine over the stop the transit of Russian gas through its territory from January 1, threatened to retaliate, possibly cutting humanitarian aid to Kyiv, ending support for Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia, or halting emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine. Now, on Friday, he said that Putin promised to find alternative ways to supply gas to Slovakia. Fico has shifted the foreign policy of Slovakia, an EU and NATO member, since taking power in 2023 by boosting relations with Russia and refusing to provide military aid to Ukraine. "I am concerned that our government is directing us towards Russia and ... is not on the side of citizens," 45-year-old marketing professional Barbara Fandelova said. Protesters accused Fico dragging Slovakia to Russia. "Slovakia is Europe, we are not Russia," one of the organisers told the crowd waving Slovak and EU flags, holding signs saying "Slovakia stands with Ukraine", and chanting "Enough of Russia!" and "Shame!". @EU_Report @freerussia_report

"The Baltic States should belong to Russia." The State Duma promised to defeat Lithuania in a day after the president's statements that the Kaliningrad region should preserve Lithuanian culture, since the region has historically been part of Lithuania Minor. If we evaluate the results of World War II from the point of view of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, who said that the Kaliningrad region is historically part of Lithuania Minor, then we can come to the conclusion that the entire Baltic States should belong to Russia. This opinion was expressed by the First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee Alexei Zhuravlev, representing the Rodina party in state controlled media. "If we are to revise the results of World War II, then the entire Baltic States should rather belong to Russia, as it was before the revolution. Including Vilna - today's Vilnius - which since 1795 has been the capital of the Vilna province of the Russian Empire". The deputy also noted that the so-called Suwalki corridor could be useful to Russia, which would provide convenient supplies to the Kaliningrad region. He called on the Lithuanian authorities to "keep their mouths shut," adding that the Lithuanian army is "one of the weakest in the world" and will not withstand the confrontation with Russia even within a day. Press parrot Peskov also commented on Nauseda's words, noting that they indicate that Vilnius has "territorial claims" to Russia. "Lithuania is an unfriendly state for our country, a state hostile to us, which, among other things, as it turns out, has territorial claims." He stressed that such statements justify Russia's "deep fears" and its actions to "ensure the security of the state." Nauseda's statements caused a real hysteria in the Foreign Ministry. Maria Zakharova called the Lithuanian president a "cardboard fool" and advised him and other Lithuanian politicians "to study history." She recalled that Vilnius became the Lithuanian capital "only thanks to Stalin." However, Zakharova did not mention that in 1939 Vilnius was returned to Lithuania after the division of Poland between the USSR and Nazi Germany. She also forgot conveniently that in 1940 the USSR occupied Lithuania. @freerussia_report @EU_Report

Addition to previous report "Complete chaos reigns inside the company" Meta employees protest against new moderation rules, some quit Meta employees are outraged by the new content moderation rules introduced by the head of the company, Mark Zuckerberg, reports 404 Media, citing sources among the company's employees. The new hate speech rules, adopted on January 7, 2025, explicitly state: "We allow charges of mental illness or deviance if they are based on gender or sexual orientation, given the political and religious discussions about transgenderism and homosexuality, as well as the common frivolous use of words such as 'strange.'" Meta employees, especially those belonging to the LGBT community, took this extremely bad. "I had to read the policy wording many times to believe what I saw – a very clear statement that we are not against people attacking others on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. I can't understand why we think this is acceptable or helpful to our community and our company's mission. I've never felt so strongly that we're on the wrong side of history. It will cause so much harm. Please reconsider this change," one of the employees wrote on the internal Meta Workplace platform. As one of the company's employees told 404 Media, the vast majority of employees share this opinion: "The entire chain of comments expresses disagreement with the new policy, except for one leader who repeats Zuckerberg's theses. I would call this mood shock and disbelief. <... >Right now, there's complete chaos inside Meta." Another Meta employee said that some of his colleagues are taking vacations and considering leaving the company, not wanting to put up with the new policy. "I would like to resign in protest, but I have already done so," one of them wrote on an internal platform. In addition to the essence of the innovations, Meta employees are dissatisfied with the fact that they were adopted without any preliminary discussions, despite the fact that previously such changes were preceded by internal discussions involving employees, lawyers, third-party experts and representatives of non-profit organizations. After his visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence last November, Zuckerberg began radical changes in the moderation policies of Facebook, Instagram and other social networks owned by Meta. It is planned to weaken the filtering of hate and fake messages on the topic of gender, migration and intersexual relations - now only posts that directly violate the law will be automatically blocked. Zuckerberg also confirmed that Meta platforms pessimize such content related to politics and activism, and promised to abolish this rule as well. This will give (among other hate&fake groups) Z-propagandists free reign to influence people in the West and meddle even more in politics and elections. @freerussia_report @EU_Report

More than 60 German scientific organizations announced their departure from the X cesspit "for the sake of diversity, freedom and science". More than 60 universities and research institutes in Germany have issued a joint statement announcing their decision to stop using former Twitter "for the sake of diversity, freedom and science" due to "the incompatibility of the current orientation of the platform with the fundamental values of the participating institutions: cosmopolitanism, scientific integrity, transparency and democratic discourse." The initiator of the withdrawal from the platform was the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf. It has already been joined by the Free University of Berlin, the Catholic University of North Rhine-Westphalia, the University of Heidelberg, the German Ornithological Society and other educational and scientific institutions. The statement was also supported by the University of Innsbruck from Austria, which began phasing out the use of Twitter more than a year ago. Now the university carries out scientific communication through the Mastodon service. The German universities' initiative, the statement said, "underlines their commitment to fact-based communication and the fight against anti-democratic forces." On January 9, Elon Musk conducted a live interview on Twitter with Alice Weidel, a candidate for chancellor of Germany from the far-right AfD party. During this conversation, Musk called the AfD "the last hope for Germany," and Weidel herself made many provocative and incorrect statements, like calling Adolf Hitler a "communist." After that, the German parliament began checking this dialogue for illegal political advertising - according to German law, assistance in election campaigning can be regarded as a donation, which is prohibited from making from non-EU countries. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇩🇪

Addition to previous report The head of Mexico proposed to call part of the United States "Mexican America." In response to Trump's idea to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the American Gulf, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has proposed calling part of the U.S. "Mexican America." Sheinbaum met with reporters at a 1607 map that calls most of North America "Mexican America." "Sounds beautiful, doesn't it?" asked Sheinbaum. On the same map, the bay that Trump wants to rename is marked as the Gulf of Mexico. Trump has also repeatedly stated his claims to the Panama Canal, Canada and Greenland "for the sake of economic security." CNN also writes that Trump's advisers are warning Danish officials that he is serious about Greenland. Trump had previously threatened Denmark with higher tariffs if it did not give up the island and refused even to rule out a military takeover of it. 🇪🇺@EU_Report

A tanker from the Russian "shadow fleet" that has lost control is drifting off the coast of Germany The Panamanian-flagged tanker Eventin has lost control and is drifting in the Baltic Sea off the German island of Rügen, reports the media outlet Norddeutscher Rundfunk. According to t-online, the vessel was built in 2006 and is included in the list of ships of the Russian "shadow fleet", compiled Greenpeace. Due to the threat of a storm, the Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (Havariekommando), the agency responsible for security in the North and Baltic Seas, has already sent two tugboats and the multipurpose ship Arkona to the tanker. A reconnaissance aircraft was also sent to the Eventin drift area. It is not yet clear where exactly the tanker will be towed - according to NDR, two options are now being considered: the German port of Rostock or one of the Danish ports. According to the MarineTraffic service, Eventin left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on January 6 and followed to Port Said in Egypt. There were about 99.000 tons of oil on board. The reason why the tanker lost control is still unknown. According to representatives of the Emergency Service, there is no damage on the ship, nothing threatens its crew and there is no need to evacuate it. In December, Finland detained the tanker of the Russian "shadow fleet" Eagle S in the Gulf of Finland, supect of breaking deliberately several cables that run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Later, the media, citing sources, reported that spy equipment was found on the ship to spy on the actions of NATO naval forces and aviation. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇩🇪 @freerussia_report

Trump said on Thursday that preparations were underway for his meeting with Putin. "He wants to meet, and we will organize this meeting. He's said that even publicly, and we have to get that war over with." Ukraine has been resisting the Russian full-scale invasion with Western assistance for almost three years. Yesterday the Biden administration announced its final military aid package for Ukraine before leaving office, with an estimated value of $500 million and includes missiles for air defense, air-to-ground munitions and equipment for Ukraine’s use of F-16 fighter jets. All of the remaining money that has been appropriated by Congress for Ukraine is expected to be provided. That does not mean, however, that all of the Presidential Drawdown Authority for Ukraine will be used by the time President Joe Biden leaves office. US officials say the sanctions the US has imposed on Russia have contributed to a significant weakening of the Russian economy – with current soaring inflation and interest rates and Russia’s diminishing ability to compete economically in the long term. The latest sanctions that are expected to be announced, whose targets are unclear, are being discussed – but not coordinated – with incoming Trump officials even though the next administration would be charged with enforcing them. 🇪🇺@EU_Report

The EU preparing for Trump's lifting of sanctions against Russia. EU prepares for Trump's possible lifting of sanctions against Russia, which were imposed for the war in Ukraine, Senior officials of the European Commission instructed to review all the measures that President Joe Biden has taken over the past four years to determine how their abolition could affect the EU. According to FT, Brussels fears that Trump may overturn these decisions simply because Biden made them, without thinking about the impact of such steps on allies or the geopolitical situation. This can potentially turn international relations and trade upside down. At the same time, EU officials still hope that Trump will maintain sanctions against Russia to use them as potential leverage during ceasefire negotiations. But as FT notes, it is typical for US politics to cancel existing presidential decrees "from the other side". So, in 2017, Trump canceled the "thaw" in Cuba, announced by President Barack Obama, and also withdrew from the Paris climate agreement. A year later, he ended U.S. involvement in the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran. A TASS source in the Trump team previously told them that that Trump will lift or soften sanctions against Russia in return of a ceasefire. Putin repeatedly announced the condition that the West lifting all sanctions imposed on Russia which he estimated on over 40.000. The MAGA's victory in the presidential election in early November also revived traders at Western banks, who are now waiting to be allowed to trade Russian assets again, the FT wrote. @freerussia_report

Georgia's 43rd Day of Continuous Protests for European Integration In Tbilisi, for the 43rd evening in a row, protesters blocked Rustaveli Avenue, and they also held a mass rally outside the official television building demanding public airtime. A rally took also place in Batumi, and on a slope in Bakuriani people have staged a “protest skiing” action with EU and Georgian flags. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇪

The President of Lithuania called the Kaliningrad region a historical part of the country. Lithuanian culture should be preserved in the Kaliningrad region, since the region is historically part of Lithuania Minor, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said. "No matter how hard Russia tries, Karaliaučius will never become Kaliningrad!" wrote Nauseda. He opposed the renaming of the museum of the Lithuanian poet Christijonas Doneilatis, which is located in the Kaliningrad region. "What's next? Burning books?" the Lithuanian president asked. In his opinion, it is necessary to preserve the heritage of Lithuania Minor in the region, although its inhabitants "have long disappeared." Lithuania Minor is a historical ethnographic region of Prussia, later East Prussia in Germany, where Prussian Lithuanians lived. It was located on the territory of the modern Kaliningrad region. Karaliaučius is the Lithuanian name for Kaliningrad. In May 2023, Lithuanian parliamentarians Vilius Semeshka and Paule Kuzmitsene proposed replacing the names of the Kaliningrad region and city in Lithuanian, saying that the current ones serve as "part of the Russian narrative." However, the idea was considered politicized at the University of Klaipėda. "If we use only the old, traditional names, we will disorient people. A person takes a card and does not find these names," explained Professor Dalia Kiseliunaite. The museum in question is located in the village of Chistye Prudy near Kaliningrad,in the building of the former Lutheran church. In the XVIII century, the poet, the founder of realism in Lithuanian literature, Kristijonas Donelaitis, lived and worked in this place. The museum complex was opened in 1979, and its collection currently has more than 200 exhibits. On January 9, the Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History and Art reported that the museum had been renamed the "Literary Museum in the village of Chistye Prudy". At the moment, the name of the Lithuanian poet was preserved in the expositions, and guides continue to tell visitors about him. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇱🇹

The European Union is ready to lead the support of Ukraine if the USA reduces aid Katja Kallas, the EU's top representative for foreign and security policy urged not to jump to conclusions about future American support. In her opinion, the USA, regardless of the leader, does not want Russia to be the strongest state. "I'm really sure that all the other EU members, as well as, hopefully, the United States, are ready to continue to support Ukraine... The European Union is also ready to take this leadership if the United States does not want to," Kallas said. 🇪🇺@EU_Report