“Such an incident, I would say a case of political aggression, political terrorism, (&) happened for the first time on our soil,” the official commented to LRT.
According to him, the longer the investigation lasts the more it points to a well-planned and professional operation, whereas the assailant was either prepared well or received good instructions.
The director of the NKVC added that after the attack on Volkov authorities introduced additional “mechanisms” to strengthen protection of Russian and Belarusian opposition representatives residing in Lithuania.
As reported, Volkov, a colleague of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, currently resides in Lithuania as he had to leave Russia due to a threat of arrest. On the night of 12 March, at around 10 p.m., he was assaulted in Vilnius outside his private home. The attacker broke the car window, sprayed teargas and hit him a dozen times with a meat tenderiser.
Volkov suffered a broken hand and a bruised leg. He was taken to hospital for emergency medical aid and discharged afterwards. Law enforcement investigating the case does not rule out that the attack may be linked to his political activities. According to the State Security Department (VSD), the assault was likely an operation organised and carried out by Russia.
Volkov stated afterwards in a video message posted on social network Telegram that the attack was a “criminal greeting” from Vladimir Putin.