LRT — broadcast
20261012 003000 UTC
533 transcript segments
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[00:00:00] "I know it will be difficult to
[00:00:03] balance. Some politicians from both the opposition and
[00:00:06] the ruling party say that the excise policy needs to be reviewed.
[00:00:09] Democratic leader Virginijus Sinkevičius emphasized that a temporary
[00:00:12] reduction in excise duty is the only way to quickly control the rise
[00:00:16] in fuel prices. We can talk about some other
[00:00:19] measures, in the medium term, in the long
[00:00:22] term, behavioral changes, but for today,
[00:00:25] if the situation remains as it
[00:00:28] is and..." "those prices are in the so-called red
[00:00:32] zone according to the government's
[00:00:35] decisions, we must have an automatic
[00:00:39] mechanism for temporary excise duty reduction. Latvia
[00:00:42] reduced excise duty on both petrol and diesel from the beginning of October,
[00:00:46] so a liter of fuel became cheaper by about eight cents, but the prime minister
[00:00:49] emphasized that reducing fuel excise duty is not so simple for Lithuania, the
[00:00:53] increase in excise duty next year is linked to obligations to the European
[00:00:57] Union and was planned back
[00:00:59] insufficient, I think that in 2024. In the coming period, even many
[00:01:02] countries are thinking about their consumers and
[00:01:05] businesses, and first of all, if some provisions
[00:01:09] contradict European Union law, then first at the national
[00:01:13] level, certain concessions are made, and then
[00:01:17] they go and negotiate with the European Commission, if political decisions are not
[00:01:20] made at the political level, then it is impossible to benefit, and
[00:01:24] it seems that decisions on excise duties will not be made soon,
[00:01:27] it is dark, it is dark. The Prime Minister
[00:01:31] says that reducing excise duties is too expensive for the state and socially unjust.
[00:01:35] Drivers are not necessarily of equal financial
[00:01:39] capacity. There can be a pensioner, for whom,
[00:01:42] for example, going to the
[00:01:46] cemetery on November 1st, their income from their pension is
[00:01:49] meager, but there can also be a working person or a business
[00:01:53] person, for whom a 10 cent reduction
[00:01:56] in fuel is not a significant measure, but the coalition party says that the
[00:02:00] issue of excise duties will have to be revisited, if the situation worsens,
[00:02:04] then we will simply have to return to it,
[00:02:07] there will be no other choice, the
[00:02:10] government probably currently considers that
[00:02:14] situation as one that can be
[00:02:17] handled with more cosmetic
[00:02:19] measures, the government agrees on concessions
[00:02:23] for train and intercity bus tickets, which would cost the state budget
[00:02:26] about 6 million euros per month, according to the Prime Minister,
[00:02:30] a similar concession for public transport in cities could
[00:02:33] also be considered by municipalities, it was also agreed to publish fuel
[00:02:37] prices in real
[00:02:37] time.
[00:02:41] This week, 100 soldiers are helping border guards protect
[00:02:44] the border with Kaliningrad. Officials say the situation at the border is currently
[00:02:48] calm. One of the reasons for deploying soldiers is the possible
[00:02:51] risk of Russian mobilization, due
[00:02:53] six we are already, let's to which Russian citizens may try to flee to Lithuania.
[00:02:57] Minister of Interior Martynas Katelynas says that
[00:03:00] Russian citizens transiting through Lithuania should
[00:03:03] be more controlled, and the minister also states that arriving
[00:03:07] migrants should be more controlled. For this reason, migration
[00:03:10] policy will be reviewed. We talked about possible
[00:03:14] threats and plans to tighten migration with Minister of Interior Martynas
[00:03:17] Katelynas a little earlier. Minister, this week
[00:03:21] it was announced that the army is being deployed to protect the border
[00:03:25] with Kaliningrad, and you have repeatedly said that all this is prevention
[00:03:29] and threats. The threat has not increased, but
[00:03:32] still, what has changed that such a step was needed? Well, we evaluate
[00:03:35] the totality of the available facts
[00:03:38] that Russia after the so-called
[00:03:42] presidential elections held
[00:03:44] at the end of the month
[00:03:48] will essentially undertake mobilization,
[00:03:50] we see that the scale of this mobilization can be
[00:03:54] considerable, so we evaluate the fact that some of the
[00:03:57] mobilized may be in Kaliningrad. Others may be
[00:04:00] brought to training grounds to train, we
[00:04:04] social and, well, certainly understand the threat that there is a possibility
[00:04:07] that mobilized people may try to seek asylum, try
[00:04:10] to illegally enter Lithuania fleeing mobilization,
[00:04:14] so this measure is needed to strengthen border
[00:04:17] protection, and at the same time, considering the fact that
[00:04:21] occurred this week in Latvia, regarding
[00:04:25] the migrant attack, when masked individuals appeared, or
[00:04:28] migrant smugglers. Or perhaps it was Belarusian special services, we do not
[00:04:32] is truly changing know, the danger at the border has increased due
[00:04:36] to hybrid threats and instrumentalized migration, so the totality of these facts
[00:04:39] led to me appealing to the Minister of National Defense for the deployment
[00:04:43] of soldiers for border patrolling.
[00:04:47] Speaking of mobilization, is it more likely that these could
[00:04:51] be isolated incidents, when individuals try
[00:04:54] to cross somehow, or again, some hybrid attacks? Well, there
[00:04:58] can be various scenarios, we... are preparing for all of
[00:05:00] them, indeed there can be isolated attempts to
[00:05:04] enter Lithuania and seek asylum, there can also be
[00:05:07] several individuals, we certainly would not
[00:05:10] want to see a large-scale attempt to enter the
[00:05:14] territory of the Republic of Lithuania, therefore these preventive actions are
[00:05:18] being carried out to ensure the security of our state. But at the moment,
[00:05:21] have officials reported any unusual
[00:05:25] activities at the border? At the moment, no, the situation is calm, that is why I call
[00:05:29] this, let's say, a request to the Minister of National Defense
[00:05:33] a preventive measure. Returning
[00:05:35] to the incident in Latvia, can
[00:05:39] it be said that this is a new stage of escalation
[00:05:42] that we have not seen before? Well,
[00:05:45] considering the totality of facts from the 2021 migration crisis,
[00:05:49] when we saw thousands of people
[00:05:52] trying to cross into Lithuania, when we did not yet have a physical barrier or a surveillance
[00:05:55] system, indeed over that five-year
[00:05:59] period, instrumentalized migration had somewhat
[00:06:01] subsided. This year Latvia faced very strong
[00:06:05] instrumentalization and large numbers of migrants, which led to us
[00:06:08] having secondary migration consequences, which we are
[00:06:11] already managing quite successfully. The numbers have decreased tenfold,
[00:06:15] but all these events, and
[00:06:18] this week's incident with
[00:06:21] 40 or so migrants who were deterred at our
[00:06:25] border, and that incident in Latvia, show
[00:06:28] that migrants, before the cold season, when
[00:06:32] usually the attempts to cross the border due to climatic conditions subside, because
[00:06:35] those migrants really do not want to spend a long time in the forest
[00:06:39] when there is sub-zero temperatures, so there is always
[00:06:42] an intensification when attempts are made to enter the territory of the European
[00:06:46] Union, and indeed, when it is simply an attempt by migrants to enter,
[00:06:50] we have faced this and we know how to deal with it, well, that incident in Latvia
[00:06:54] shows what? That they are no longer afraid to
[00:06:58] threaten both border guards and the military
[00:07:01] officers helping them, it really
[00:07:05] shows that we must be prepared for escalations
[00:07:08] of various levels, because the regime that uses
[00:07:12] immigrants and tries to pressure the Baltic
[00:07:16] states, Poland, to achieve its political goals,
[00:07:20] they can come up with various measures, which we saw this year
[00:07:23] in Lithuania with tunnels, this is a completely new method,
[00:07:27] as I say, we had, we did not have a physical barrier, so there were simply
[00:07:30] attempts to cross our border simply
[00:07:33] on foot, we built a physical barrier, they
[00:07:37] tried to climb over it, we fought
[00:07:40] that too, repelling those attempts to cross the border
[00:07:44] illegally, then there was only one way left, to dig from below, we
[00:07:47] are fighting that too, we are blocking those tunnels,
[00:07:50] so whenever there are some counter-measures, there is
[00:07:53] a desire to continue those attempts to
[00:07:56] cross the border illegally, new methods will be devised,
[00:08:00] we are preparing for that, we are looking at what we can put against those
[00:08:03] attempts, and I believe that we are prepared.
[00:08:07] The number of illegal migrants in Lithuania has decreased recently,
[00:08:10] but also recently you have been talking a lot about
[00:08:14] the need for a change in Lithuania's migration policy in general, and
[00:08:18] you always said, meaning that the policy would be
[00:08:21] tightened, perhaps you can now say more about what is intended
[00:08:25] to be done, that policy on legal and illegal
[00:08:28] migration was previously very distinguished, illegal migration
[00:08:31] was mainly emphasized, this was the case throughout Europe,
[00:08:34] now participating in discussions with the interior
[00:08:37] ministers of European Union member states, when talking about migration,
[00:08:41] legal migration is also emphasized, how it can be restricted, what
[00:08:44] methods can be used, regarding the return of illegal migrants,
[00:08:48] regarding migrants for whom a decision has been made, who had
[00:08:51] the status to be in the European Union, but it was revoked
[00:08:55] and they must be returned to their countries of origin, it is now being discussed more strictly that these returns
[00:08:59] must be accelerated, and speaking about Lithuania regarding legal
[00:09:02] migration, in principle, what we have seen over the past four years
[00:09:06] is that the number of migrants has rapidly increased precisely due to that quota
[00:09:10] migration, when people come to our country from various countries
[00:09:13] to work, but this causes
[00:09:17] economic tensions, because we cannot
[00:09:20] build our state's economy and development on the fact that
[00:09:23] businesses will earn profits only from cheap labor,
[00:09:26] in this way we eliminate our citizens from the labor market
[00:09:30] and in this way we transfer
[00:09:33] costs to the state, because we see that integration and other things
[00:09:36] must fall under state supervision, and businesses only take the benefits, so I
[00:09:40] think that these restrictions must be measured, because in the short term we
[00:09:44] certainly need that cheap labor where we truly do not have our
[00:09:48] own citizens, but in principle that quota system does not work, because
[00:09:51] I have already received data, simply no one
[00:09:55] has ever asked for such data about migrants who
[00:09:57] arrive under quotas, whether they
[00:10:00] all actually work, if they do not work and their temporary residence permit
[00:10:04] is revoked, whether they leave, yes, we have problems where we
[00:10:07] do not know if those migrants actually leave, so I say that that system
[00:10:10] does not work, I proposed a new system to the prime minister, the prime minister instructed
[00:10:14] to reactivate the migration commission's work and within the framework of that commission,
[00:10:18] we hope to propose a model that
[00:10:21] would replace the current one, I hope so, since I am tasked with coordinating the
[00:10:25] work of that commission, I will present that model to the renewed composition
[00:10:29] of the commission when we meet in the near future, but you
[00:10:31] talk mostly, one could
[00:10:35] say almost exclusively about quotas, but this year
[00:10:38] about 25,000 foreigners arrived under quotas, however,
[00:10:42] when talking about some problems, it is often talked about
[00:10:46] drivers, about couriers, who often arrive not under that
[00:10:49] quota, but through other means, will a new
[00:10:52] migration policy be discussed more broadly?
[00:10:55] If so, about what, only about quotas? Yes, it would be discussed
[00:10:59] more broadly, because in fact, what we see is that there is a considerable
[00:11:02] number, according to the available statistics, of
[00:11:05] people who arrive on the basis of studies, but at the same time
[00:11:08] use the opportunity to work independently, they
[00:11:12] are in fact, the basis of study is only
[00:11:15] a pretext for them to come to Lithuania, they actually work much more, higher
[00:11:19] education institutions do not even physically see them, and that control is
[00:11:24] this must end, when some higher
[00:11:27] education institutions profit from it, but in Lithuania
[00:11:31] that image is also being created that there are more migrants than actually
[00:11:34] declared, and when you add
[00:11:38] all those numbers, not only quota-based, but also study-based and other
[00:11:42] other bases on which migrants are in Lithuania, we get
[00:11:45] those several thousands who also raise questions in our society, so
[00:11:49] regarding studies, you will probably propose that there be
[00:11:52] stricter control. well, third-country nationals arriving
[00:11:56] on the basis of studies must come to study, not
[00:12:00] to work and simply use studies as a reason
[00:12:03] for entry, in fact it is only a reason, not
[00:12:07] a principle by which they are here, so you will not allow them,
[00:12:10] for example, to engage in independent activity, this is one of the options, because we see
[00:12:14] that if we allow 20 hours of activity, well, they engage in
[00:12:18] 40 and 60 and similar activities, and there is no control to
[00:12:21] check how much activity is being engaged in, whether
[00:12:25] lectures are truly attended, whether
[00:12:28] exams are taken, or whether entire study programs are filled
[00:12:32] with migrants who do not appear
[00:12:33] in lectures.
[00:12:38] it would seem that European Union and NATO countries now
[00:12:42] need the greatest consolidation against the growing threat from
[00:12:45] the East, although Western allies' societies are most torn apart
[00:12:49] by social problems. In France,
[00:12:51] due to overcrowded classrooms, poor condition of school buildings, and
[00:12:55] inequality in the education sector, protesting students
[00:12:58] managed to ignite a national movement, but
[00:13:01] debt-ridden France with a large budget deficit
[00:13:05] no longer has many ways to solve the long-standing problem
[00:13:08] without creating new ones, when unrest in the streets is fueled not only
[00:13:12] by gangs of vandals, but also by far-left politicians
[00:13:15] seeking political dividends.
[00:13:19] The student movement once changed history, when
[00:13:22] frightened that the situation was becoming unmanageable.
[00:13:57] movement, it's cold in classrooms in winter, a third of teachers are not replaced
[00:14:00] in our school, and they are not even among the worst, this year two
[00:14:04] teachers are missing, we want the government to listen and take serious steps
[00:14:07] so that we can create the future.
[00:14:11] Parents and teachers were invited to express support for students,
[00:14:15] forming a critical mass in one city after another,
[00:14:18] and educational institutions were blocked one after another. At the
[00:14:22] beginning of October, there were more than 160
[00:14:26] of them throughout France. After the wave of protests by fishermen
[00:14:30] and transporters, triggered by high fuel prices, it will be
[00:14:32] most difficult for Sébastien Lecornu's fragile
[00:14:36] government to quell the anger of massively protesting
[00:14:39] students.
[00:14:42] They have seen wars, climate change, sometimes watched their parents and loved ones struggle.
[00:14:46] Nevertheless, we ask you to choose a path and look to the future
[00:14:49] with determination, to restore trust, this is the responsibility of the government and all political
[00:14:53] parties.
[00:14:56] The usual solution would be to increase spending on education after
[00:15:00] cutting it in other areas, but the reality
[00:15:03] is that there is nothing left to cut without major consequences,
[00:15:07] saving at the expense of pensions, healthcare and services
[00:15:10] would probably provoke even greater anger from
[00:15:13] other segments of society, the government can
[00:15:16] borrow more, but servicing the state debt is becoming
[00:15:20] more expensive, and the debt, which could
[00:15:23] reach 120% of GDP next year,
[00:15:26] is approaching the level of Greece and
[00:15:29] Italy.
[00:15:31] Observers fear that such a vicious circle will eventually
[00:15:34] deter investors and this will cause even
[00:15:38] greater problems in the future, although the French Minister of Finance
[00:15:42] reassures. Let me emphasize, France
[00:15:45] remains a very reliable borrower, our accounts are
[00:15:48] balanced, our strengths in energy,
[00:15:52] technology and finance are widely recognized.
[00:15:55] So for now, the government is determined to solve the situation with only short-term
[00:15:59] solutions, saying it has found specialists who can at least
[00:16:03] partially fill the missing pedagogical positions
[00:16:05] in schools. to find, as we call it in jargon,
[00:16:09] a teacher reserve, that is, teachers who until now have not
[00:16:12] been assigned to student classes, but the problem
[00:16:15] also has another side, clashes with the police in some places have become
[00:16:19] unusually violent, hundreds of students and
[00:16:22] officers injured, 7,000 young people
[00:16:25] arrested in a couple of weeks, most of them
[00:16:27] minors.
[00:16:30] During one clash, a police stun grenade picked up from the ground
[00:16:33] tore off a student's palm, some
[00:16:36] of the protesters accuse law enforcement of using excessive
[00:16:40] force, but others claim to have seen
[00:16:43] with their own eyes that the chaos is fueled by gangs of vandals joining
[00:16:47] the rallies. Here are young people, even from our
[00:16:50] school and even from our district, coming with fireworks and
[00:16:54] explosions. We don't want that, we want to protest for our rights and
[00:16:57] future. Politicians from the far-left
[00:17:01] party, La France Insoumise, were accused of inciting
[00:17:04] unrest. Its representatives were filmed
[00:17:07] gathering near schools, confronting
[00:17:11] the police. At one of the rallies, their leader
[00:17:14] Jean-Luc Mélenchon also appeared, putting himself forward as a candidate
[00:17:18] in next year's presidential elections. This is
[00:17:21] the most powerful youth movement we have seen in 50 years, and
[00:17:25] no one can tell you that you are wrong, because you are
[00:17:28] right. So the ruling party accuses
[00:17:32] the far-left of opportunism. Hiding behind concern for students,
[00:17:36] the national crisis is being exploited for narrow political
[00:17:39] interests and incites radical
[00:17:42] gangs. This is a blatant campaign aimed at
[00:17:46] destroying the public education sector. But
[00:17:49] as unrest continues and divisions grow before the upcoming
[00:17:52] elections, the most important of all politicians,
[00:17:56] Emmanuel Macron, remains silent for now.
[00:17:59] With his last term ending and in such a
[00:18:02] situation, he probably has few political
[00:18:05] calculations, but one way or another, unpopular
[00:18:09] decisions will have to be taken by someone
[00:18:11] sooner or later.
[00:18:15] Meanwhile, accumulated social problems in Spain could lead
[00:18:19] to serious political changes. If it happened
[00:18:22] that after the early elections in November, the progressive minority coalition of Pedro Sánchez
[00:18:26] was replaced by center and far-right
[00:18:30] forces. This is precisely the probability indicated by polls.
[00:18:33] However, the prime minister hopes that he will turn the upcoming elections
[00:18:36] into a referendum on who will solve the most important
[00:18:39] housing problem, and the public's anger over housing prices into support
[00:18:43] for his socialist party. A risky gamble and reminiscent
[00:18:47] of the summer before last, when French President Emmanuel
[00:18:50] Macron also decided to go all-in, called early
[00:18:54] elections, only to lose them and further complicate the situation
[00:18:57] in the country. What will happen in Spain is still
[00:19:00] unclear. What is clear is that the housing crisis continues
[00:19:04] to leave no one indifferent. Protests in Madrid, Valencia,
[00:19:07] Barcelona and elsewhere continue, and the disappointment
[00:19:10] of their participants is deepened by the news that Maricarmen
[00:19:13] Abascal, an 87-year-old senior who was forcibly evicted from her home
[00:19:17] in Madrid due to inability to pay rent,
[00:19:19] and became a symbol of the protests, died this week.
[00:19:22] mirė.
[00:19:27] We'll be right back.
[00:19:30] A suspected case of plague in Russia forced the whole world to remember
[00:19:34] the recently experienced pandemic.
[00:19:37] In another segment. Lithuania will allocate almost as much money to defense as this year, what
[00:19:40] will we invest in?
[00:19:43] Dilemma in the United States regarding the death penalty.
[00:19:55] We're back, it's this week. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius
[00:19:59] stated that next year Lithuania will continue to allocate almost as much money
[00:20:03] from the budget for defense as this year. The percentage of GDP
[00:20:06] will slightly decrease, but will remain slightly more than
[00:20:09] 5%. Funds for defense continue to cover not only
[00:20:12] weapons or air defense acquisitions, but also
[00:20:16] infrastructure development. This week it became clear that Lithuania
[00:20:19] is ready if Americans want to establish
[00:20:22] a base.
[00:20:25] Lithuania invited the United States to establish a permanent American base
[00:20:28] in Lithuania, would you consider it?
[00:20:31] Well, they are my friends, great people, so we will certainly
[00:20:34] people, Lithuania. "I know
[00:20:38] so many people in this country, they are great
[00:20:40] people.
[00:20:43] The Minister of National Defense presented the proposal to establish a permanent base to the Pentagon
[00:20:46] a couple of weeks ago, and a little earlier the same
[00:20:52] offer was also conveyed by the government to the American envoy to Belarus, John Cole. We are ready
[00:20:55] to provide the best possible conditions for the US side,
[00:20:59] I am glad that President Trump does not reject
[00:21:02] such ideas, I have indeed instructed the Ministry of National
[00:21:06] Defense to do its homework. With the rotation of American
[00:21:09] troops returning this month, Lithuania continues to do everything to meet the needs
[00:21:12] of perhaps the most important security and deterrence guarantor, the Americans.
[00:21:16] New residential buildings were recently built at General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground.
[00:21:20] The state covers all expenses for the presence of troops. I think this
[00:21:23] is a very serious political signal.
[00:21:27] Lithuania's offer to continue covering the costs of troop presence and
[00:21:30] expanding infrastructure. However, experts emphasize that the United States
[00:21:34] administration is unpredictable, and they are waiting to see how the situation
[00:21:38] regarding the military base in Poland develops, but they also raise the question of whether
[00:21:41] Washington would ask to change its policy regarding Belarus. This
[00:21:45] administration is very business-like, let's call it that,
[00:21:48] in international relations. It is clear that it will use such
[00:21:52] promises as a certain means of pressure or
[00:21:55] compensation to Lithuania for opening up transit. This is
[00:21:59] very good news, which shows that the United
[00:22:03] States of America trusts Lithuania. Now
[00:22:05] the most important thing is to act consistently. We have received
[00:22:09] the rotation of United States troops. Deterrence
[00:22:13] is consistently strengthened with another ally. In the coming
[00:22:16] months, the first phase of the military camp for the German brigade in Rukla
[00:22:20] will be completed, the project is being implemented faster than planned, there
[00:22:24] is German reassurance.
[00:22:27] The security of the Baltic states and Germany's security, Berlin's
[00:22:30] security also means Vilnius' security. We act
[00:22:33] accordingly.
[00:22:35] Funds are not only for the infrastructure of the German brigade, the expenses of American
[00:22:39] troops, air defense needs to be strengthened, air space surveillance.
[00:22:42] Drones are also needed. The army, in turn, announced a
[00:22:46] space for training experiments with technologies.
[00:22:50] Drones and what has become an integral part of the war in Ukraine will be
[00:22:53] tested here. The Ambo unit of autonomous remote unmanned operations
[00:22:57] has been working for some time, checking what would be suitable for the army
[00:23:01] for reconnaissance, defense, attacks, short and long
[00:23:03] range. The army has already received significantly updated combat drones Switch
[00:23:07] Blade 600, which have recently been quietly used by Ukrainian
[00:23:11] special operations, military intelligence and SBU units.
[00:23:15] daliniai.
[00:23:20] The minister says they want to test various drones, including
[00:23:23] Lithuanian ones, several from very specific manufacturers,
[00:23:26] to find out what would fit, although very logical, but not very
[00:23:29] compatible with public procurement, the government needs to ask
[00:23:33] for exceptions. Now we have government permission to acquire
[00:23:36] 11 different types of drone interceptors and
[00:23:40] with
[00:23:43] say, in the home stretch for signing contracts,
[00:23:47] so we are certainly not limiting ourselves to just one. The Ministry of
[00:23:51] National Defense intends to submit proposals
[00:23:54] regarding the public procurement law in the near future, the interest of
[00:23:57] industrialists, the possibility of testing Lithuanian weapons,
[00:24:00] and even better, investments in local
[00:24:03] It would be fully possible to use Lithuanian industrial capacities,
[00:24:07] to make more use of the possibility of acquiring trial
[00:24:10] batches and thus to test new
[00:24:14] products and later, say, if there is
[00:24:18] positive feedback,
[00:24:21] to give the opportunity to acquire larger batches. After
[00:24:25] the audit of the Ministry of National Defence, the minister states that the Defence Resources Agency,
[00:24:29] responsible for procurement, must change. The new
[00:24:32] head, Dovydas Palaima, who took office in March, states that among the important
[00:24:36] desired changes is to reduce bureaucracy. Public
[00:24:39] procurement is regulated by both Lithuanian and European Union procurement
[00:24:43] and competition law. We must ensure that these funds are
[00:24:47] used efficiently, transparently and proportionally. Procurement
[00:24:50] consists of many components: needs, compatibility with Lithuanian and NATO
[00:24:54] defence plans, dealings with manufacturers, production, delivery of
[00:24:57] capacity, testing, personnel training.
[00:25:00] The head of the Defence Resources Agency says there is a shortage of people
[00:25:04] who can work with procurement. In the hands of these specialists are tens of
[00:25:07] millions of state money. How the
[00:25:11] agency could change is planned to be presented in the coming months, but
[00:25:14] the changes will not be related solely to personnel shortages.
[00:25:17] The Gra, as an organization,
[00:25:22] in terms of both resources and competencies, we are growing,
[00:25:25] restructuring and truly adapting
[00:25:29] to the challenges of the times so that we can
[00:25:32] timely and effectively respond to the needs of military
[00:25:35] capabilities, at the same time changing the procedures themselves,
[00:25:38] both laws and internal
[00:25:41] procedures, and at the same time,
[00:25:44] procurement specialists effectively use
[00:25:46] allocated funds. This is
[00:25:50] an easy process, no, not easy, because the homework was not done
[00:25:53] on time. Mindaugas Sinkevičius's message: next year's
[00:25:56] defence budget will be slightly less than five billion euros,
[00:26:00] remaining almost the same as this year's.
[00:26:03] However, the percentage allocated from the gross domestic product will decrease due to economic
[00:26:06] growth and will be just over
[00:26:08] 5%.
[00:26:12] For those not interested in health topics, plague at best
[00:26:15] reminds of biblical stories or history
[00:26:18] lessons, perhaps Albert Camus's book. Nevertheless,
[00:26:22] in recent weeks, suspected cases of this disease
[00:26:25] in Russia have forced the whole world to remember the recently experienced
[00:26:28] pandemic. There is little clarity regarding a possible attack of pneumonic plague
[00:26:32] in Irkutsk. Russian officials claim that the suspected
[00:26:35] case was not confirmed, but refuse to share information about
[00:26:39] the circumstances of the death of a young employee of the plague research
[00:26:42] institute. Nevertheless, scientists reassure that even if the case
[00:26:46] of the disease were confirmed, the risk of spread is low, and
[00:26:49] modern medicine is capable of preventing not only
[00:26:53] its spread, but also the death of those
[00:26:55] infected.
[00:26:57] At the end of 2019, the world's attention gradually
[00:27:01] focused on a city in China that not everyone had heard of then, Wuhan.
[00:27:04] At the end of December, the World Health Organization received a report about
[00:27:08] cases of pneumonia of unknown origin. Almost seven years
[00:27:12] later.
[00:27:15] The distant Irkutsk television reports about pneumonia of unknown
[00:27:18] origin. This time it is not about a new Covid.
[00:27:22] Rumors are circulating about the well-known plague.
[00:27:26] The day it all happened, my mom called me and
[00:27:29] screamed that 10 people had already died. There were no official
[00:27:33] reports yet, I had read that it was something
[00:27:36] similar to Hong Kong syphilis and that it was actually
[00:27:40] caused by bears, so people panicked because
[00:27:43] there were no official statements. There are few official
[00:27:46] reports now either, it is known that an employee of the plague research
[00:27:50] laboratory, 28-year-old Daria
[00:27:53] Shipilova, died in this hospital. Officially, it is stated that her life was taken by
[00:27:57] pneumonia of unknown origin. It might not be
[00:27:59] suspicious, especially since there are cases where doctors really don't know
[00:28:03] why a patient contracted pneumonia, for example, in the United
[00:28:06] Kingdom, such cases make up a quarter,
[00:28:09] but from the first reports contradictory information began to spread,
[00:28:13] and the media, which published reports of plague cases and is not heavily controlled by the Kremlin,
[00:28:17] very quickly retracted its statements, later deleting
[00:28:21] the posts on social networks. In Soviet
[00:28:24] times, all these cases were hidden under thick shrouds of secrecy,
[00:28:27] people were not informed, then huge
[00:28:30] restriction and isolation measures were in place, and almost
[00:28:34] always succeeded, this applies to smallpox, plague, and
[00:28:37] anthrax. The suspicion is not diminished by the history of the Irkutsk Plague Research
[00:28:41] Institute. Established in 1934,
[00:28:45] the institute was supposed to control possible outbreaks in Siberia,
[00:28:48] Mongolia and China, to study plague itself, and later other
[00:28:52] dangerous diseases, including cholera and anthrax. However, during the height of the Cold
[00:28:55] War, the institution was officially included in the Soviet Union's defensive
[00:28:59] biological program. True, there is no information that biological
[00:29:03] weapons were created here, but the institute could have transmitted
[00:29:05] infections, but it is also emphasized that the mere existence
[00:29:09] of the institute and its past proves nothing, although plague is not
[00:29:12] widespread, but cases of it, including in Siberia, are recorded annually from
[00:29:16] 100 to 300, therefore scientists constantly study the disease,
[00:29:19] looking for better medicines and vaccines. In Madagascar,
[00:29:23] outbreaks recur almost every year, isolated cases have been recorded
[00:29:26] in Congo, several cases have also been registered
[00:29:30] in the United States, and reports also come from some parts of the Central Asian
[00:29:33] steppes. True, of the three forms of plague: bubonic,
[00:29:37] septicemic, and pneumonic, the most common is
[00:29:40] bubonic. It accounts for the largest number of naturally occurring
[00:29:44] cases of the disease. Meanwhile, pneumonic plague is the most dangerous, but
[00:29:48] up to ten cases are recorded worldwide
[00:29:50] each year. Pneumonic plague, which we are talking about now,
[00:29:54] occurs when the pathogen is inhaled and infects
[00:29:57] the respiratory tract. In bubonic plague, often called
[00:30:01] the Black Death, bacteria are carried by fleas
[00:30:04] that infest rats. Fleas bite rats, and these, when biting
[00:30:08] humans, transmit the bacteria. Inhaling the
[00:30:11] pathogen would also coincide with the theory being put forward that researchers, while performing experiments, could have
[00:30:14] broken a test tube and thus become infected, and later died,
[00:30:18] but Shipilova's mother, who gave an interview to local media, insists that
[00:30:21] only fools believe such claims, saying she knows what
[00:30:25] really happened, but is not saying it publicly. Nevertheless, the greatest
[00:30:28] concern is that pneumonic plague is the only form that
[00:30:32] a person can transmit to another person. It progresses extremely
[00:30:35] quickly, from infection to death can pass in just one or a few
[00:30:39] days, and the initial symptoms resemble a common flu, so
[00:30:42] recognizing the disease immediately is difficult. The fact that Shipilova was admitted to the hospital
[00:30:46] on September 29 and died on October 1 is one
[00:30:50] piece of evidence that we are talking about a possible case of pneumonic
[00:30:54] plague. Nevertheless, it is emphasized that the disease is easily
[00:30:56] curable, although action must be taken quickly. Small and mass.