The Lithuanian State Security Department (VSD) has in the past year compiled several attempts by Russian, Belarusian and Chinese intelligence services to recruit Lithuanian citizens.
According to the annual report of the Lithuanian security services, published earlier on Wednesday, all these attempts by Moscow, Minsk and Beijing were unsuccessful, the Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported.
The Lithuanian State Security Department also reports that five Russian intelligence officers working under diplomatic cover have been expelled from the country in the past year.
Overall, Lithuanian authorities have warned that »the intensity of other types of activities of Russian special services – information, radio-electronic and cyber-intelligence operations – remains high».
Therefore, the Lithuanian National Security services have assured that they will continue to pay »priority attention» to the prevention of these foreign activities through major counterintelligence operations and strengthening cybersecurity.
The VSD has concluded that, following the implementation of sanctions against Russia and Belarus in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Moscow and Minsk have intensified their efforts to try to circumvent these measures imposed by much of the international community.
»Sanctions circumvention schemes have become one of the most important areas of investigation into the economic security of VSD,» reads the report, which directly targets companies operating in Lithuania that assist Russian entities in circumventing sanctions.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
