Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius sought to reassure the public Thursday after the country’s defence minister warned that Russia could stage “false flag” attacks against critical infrastructure in the Baltic region using Ukrainian drones.
Sinkevičius said hybrid threats against Lithuania remain real but stressed that the overall threat level has not changed significantly.
“A certain level of threat exists. We have faced various hybrid attacks before, including the use of illegal migrants from Belarus, as well as drones and balloons,” Sinkevičius told reporters. “The threats remain, but I would not say that citizens should be additionally worried.”
His comments came after media reports citing Lithuanian military intelligence said Russia is considering attacks on critical infrastructure in the Baltic states using captured Ukrainian drones to conceal responsibility and deny attacking NATO territory.
Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas confirmed earlier Thursday that Lithuanian intelligence has information suggesting Moscow is assessing such scenarios, although he said there was no indication Russia had decided to carry out an attack or that one was imminent.
