EU defense firms targeted with funeral wreaths, Lithuania suspects Russia
Mourning wreaths appear at EU defense companies. Russian involvement is suspected (photo: Getty Images)
Funeral wreaths bearing photos of company executives appeared almost simultaneously outside the offices of defense companies in Lithuania and the Czech Republic, Delfi reports.
Footage filmed in Vilnius has circulated on social media, showing several funeral wreaths outside the RSI Europe building, a company that manufactures unmanned systems.
A photo of the company CEO, Tomas Milašauskas, was placed nearby with a black mourning ribbon. Milašauskas is alive and well and described what happened as an intimidation attempt.
"We are not afraid. This is standard intimidation, a provocation, the usual way the Russians operate. Our response is absolutely normal—we will keep working, we won't react or get distracted, because their goal is to divert our attention," the head of RSI Europe told LNK Žinios.
According to him, this is the first such provocation the company has faced, although there have been previous attempts to harm it, including cyberattacks.
Similar incident in Czech Republic
Funeral wreaths appeared almost at the same time outside the office of the Czech defense company CSG, with a photo of one of its executives, David Chour, placed nearby.
RSI Europe supplies Ukraine with FPV drones and remote detonation systems, while CSG manufactures ammunition and military equipment. Law enforcement authorities are investigating whether the incidents in Lithuania and the Czech Republic are connected.
Provocation outside EU defense companies (screenshot from LNK Žinios)
Suspect detained
Police responded promptly to the incident, detained one suspect, and launched a pretrial investigation. LNK sources indicate that the detainee is a Ukrainian citizen, while a Belarusian citizen may have hired him to deliver the wreaths.
Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Crisis Management Center of Lithuania, linked the detention to increased monitoring of defense companies. Remigijus Motuzas, chairman of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs, suggested that similar provocations could happen again.
"Such incidents may become more frequent, and they already have. This is probably just the beginning," he said.
Photos and videos of the wreaths quickly spread across social media and Telegram channels.
Lithuanian officials link this type of information campaign to methods used by Russian intelligence services. The posts repeat claims that NATO is waging war against Russia through Ukraine and accuse European companies supporting Kyiv of profiting from the war.
As previously reported, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda warned that Russia was preparing local operations targeting the Baltic states.
More broadly, Europe has seen a rise in sabotage, arson and provocations that are linked to Russian intelligence services.
