Repeated balloon intrusions from Belarus have become a symbol of the wider hybrid pressures facing Lithuania and Europe, demonstrating how simple tools can create significant security, economic, and political challenges.

The 2025–2026 holiday season presents a high threat environment driven by recent international and domestic incidents involving vehicle-ramming, VBIEDs, and lone actor violence targeting symbolic and densely populated gatherings.

Unidentified drones are increasingly disrupting European airspace and exposing weaknesses in the continent’s ability to protect critical sites from low-cost aerial threats.

The United States is expanding counterterrorism operations in the Horn of Africa as extremist groups strengthen their influence amid political instability, humanitarian crisis, and rising regional tensions.

Years of careless social media use by Israeli soldiers, combined with broader intelligence and leadership failures, allowed Hamas to turn everyday online posts into a detailed playbook for the October 7 attacks.

Rising public protests, intensifying U.S.–Venezuela tensions, and shifting regional dynamics now create a volatile moment that could escalate both overseas and at home.