Russia plans provocations in Western countries, Lithuanian MoD warns
Minister of Defense of Lithuania Arvydas Anušauskas (Photo: Getty Images)
Lithuania's Minister of Defense Arvydas Anušauskas stated that Russia is unlikely to abandon its methods and simply wait for the end of the war with Ukraine. It will continue to organize various provocations in Western countries, reports Žinių radijas.
He made this statement after the Estonian authorities arrested 10 individuals in December suspected of spying for Russia. They were tasked with committing various criminal acts, including smashing the windows of the Minister of Internal Affairs' car and a journalist's vehicle, as well as destroying monuments.
Additionally, in Latvia, a man was identified and detained at the end of January for vandalizing a monument with red paint dedicated to Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas, a leader of Lithuanian partisans who fought against Soviet rule, in Merkinė.
"Russia is unlikely to abandon its methods and simply wait for the end of the war with Ukraine, as evidenced by the disruption of neighboring countries' societies and demonstrations that they can," the minister stated.
He added that Russia would seek to demonstrate that institutions cannot withstand such hybrid attacks, which have occurred and will continue to occur constantly.
Background
Recently, it was revealed that Estonia successfully exposed a hybrid operation by Russian intelligence services, resulting in the arrest of 10 individuals as part of a criminal investigation.
The police believe that they were acting on behalf of Russian intelligence services. According to the investigation, the suspects, acting on the orders of Russian intelligence services, had various roles. Some gathered information to prepare for violations of the law, while others were executors.
