World
Lithuanian FM warns Russia can do 'so much damage to its neighbors'
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis shared with Fox News Digital his perspective as someone on the border of the Ukraine invasion, including concerns Russia can do “so much damage” even as its power wanes.
“In 2014, before the first war in Ukraine, people in the U.S. and … Western leaders would say ‘Russia is going down, it’s on its way down, its regional power – it’s not a global power anymore, its influence is waning,’” Landsbergis said. “But on its way down, it can do so much damage to its neighbors.”
“It’s not the right assessment,” he added, saying that even if Russia were declining as much as Western leaders think, the death “convulsions” of such a great power could “last for decades.”
“Who knows when or how it would stop … it’s a very difficult thing to imagine, to predict,” he said.
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Lithuania has remained one of the most vocal nations in Eastern Europe throughout Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, even before the 2014 invasion of Crimea. Part of that has been to proudly embrace NATO’s role on the continent.
Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis attends NATO’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington, D.C., on July 11, 2024. (Reuters/Yves Herman)
While Lithuania fell far below the 2% required expenditure on defense in 2014, by 2021 – a full year before the invasion of Ukraine started – Lithuania had met the requirement and only continued increasing its defense expenditure.
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Lithuania in 2023 hit 3.2% expenditure, making it one of the highest-spending (by percent of GDP) members of NATO after only Poland, the U.S., Greece and Estonia.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielus Landsbergis, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hold a joint news conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, on March 7, 2022. (Olivier Douliery/Pool via Reuters)
Landsbergis used this – and the general increase in defense spending among NATO members over the past two years – to argue that European countries have proven their ability to “muster strength” and stand up to a power of Russia’s size.
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“Even the biggest critics should have to admit that more than $100 billion, now … I mean, it’s huge. Nobody really could have predicted that Europe would be able to do that,” Landsbergis said.
Gabrielius Landsbergis (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images/File)
“The question is: Is that enough? And does that forbid such action against your neighbor like Ukraine to be repeated in the future?” he said. “This is where we see a problem that Europe needs to grow because every industry in Europe needs to step up with its spending towards defense.”
When pressed on whether Europe lacks clear leadership or has stagnated in recent years, Landsbergis disagreed but acknowledged that the union has room to improve.
“The union is structured with 27 members and each with a veto, right?” Landsbergis noted. “It’s difficult to have a smooth process that doesn’t require a lot of debate or consensus building.”
“This is the way that we are currently at this juncture. There’s talk about the need for reform,” he added. “I think that it … will be happening. Europe has to adapt to the new requirements of this age and time, and maybe the principles change as well.”
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By Jorge Mitssunaga
May 16, 2026
World
WHO declares Ebola outbreak in Central Africa a public health emergency after 80 suspected deaths
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The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa an international public health emergency on Sunday after dozens of suspected deaths were reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Uganda.
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, the WHO said.
The declaration follows reports of 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases as of Saturday across at least three health zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.
The development comes as global health officials continue monitoring a rare hantavirus outbreak tied to the MV Hondius cruise ship, which left multiple passengers and crew members sick, and caused three deaths.
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A health worker sprays disinfectant on a colleague after working at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo, on Sept. 9, 2018. (Al-hadji Kudra Maliro/AP)
As of May 13, the WHO said 11 hantavirus cases had been identified in connection with the cruise outbreak, including eight confirmed cases, two probable cases and one inconclusive case.
In neighboring Uganda’s capital, Kampala, the WHO said two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases — including one death — were reported Friday and Saturday involving people who had traveled from the DRC.
Another laboratory-confirmed case was reported in the DRC capital of Kinshasa involving a person returning from Ituri province.
Initial tests suggested the outbreak does not involve the Ebola Zaire strain, which caused Congo’s devastating 2018–2020 epidemic that killed more than 1,000 people.
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Health workers wearing protective suits tend to an Ebola victim in an isolation tent in Beni, Congo, on July 13, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
However, unlike Ebola-Zaire strains, there are currently no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the Bundibugyo strain, which the WHO described as making the outbreak “extraordinary.”
The WHO warned the outbreak could be larger than currently reported due to the high positivity rate among initial samples and the growing number of suspected cases.
The outbreak also poses a public health risk to other countries, the WHO said, urging nations to activate emergency-management systems and implement cross-border screening measures.
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Ambulances parked at Bunia General Referral Hospital following confirmation of an Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 16, 2026. (REUTERS/Victoire Mukenge)
Ebola is a highly contagious and often fatal disease spread through bodily fluids, including blood, vomit and semen. Symptoms can include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and internal bleeding.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently said Congo has a “strong track record” responding to Ebola outbreaks while announcing the release of $500,000 in emergency funding to support containment efforts.
The WHO said it will convene an emergency committee to review recommendations for how affected countries should respond.
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Health workers dressed in protective gear begin their shift at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, Congo, on July 16, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
The organization did not recommend border closures or travel restrictions.
Congo has now recorded 17 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Brittany Miller, along with Reuters, contributed to this report.
Iran to reveal its plan for Strait of Hormuz soon as Israel attacks Lebanon and Gaza, killing and wounding dozens.
Published On 17 May 2026
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