“One should not expect Russia to leave its methods behind and simply wait for the end of the war in Ukraine. Polarizing neighbouring societies, showing that they can [attack – ELTA] and state institutions cannot withstand such hybrid attacks – this has happened before and will continue,” Arvydas Anušauskas told Žinių radijas on Thursday morning.
“This is a single-minded effort to divide the societies of our countries and to create distrust in the country’s institutions,” Anušauskas added.
Latvian law enforcement on Wednesday said it had detained a person, who allegedly defaced a monument to Lithuania’s post-war partisan leader Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas in Merkinė with red paint in end-January, TV3 TV reported.
The man, who holds Estonian and Russian citizenship, was reportedly detained on 8 February at the border checkpoint with Belarus. He was following instructions from Russian special services, according to Latvian security authorities, and is now facing charges of aiding and abetting a hostile country to act against Latvia.
Lithuania’s State Security Department (VSD) on Tuesday announced that suspects had been detained in Estonia and Latvia for engaging in criminal offences on the instructions of Russia’s special services.
Individuals apprehended in Estonia are suspected to have acted against the country’s security, while those held in Latvia are suspected to have aided Russian special services to act against Latvia.
According to the VSD, some of the detained are citizens of Russia, whereas others are dual citizens of Estonia and Russia.
Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian authorities are cooperating in ongoing investigations.
In the assessment of Lithuania’s intelligence agency, in the short-term there is an increased probability of similar attacks against various facilities in the country.