Lithuania reports Russian information operation aimed at reducing support for Ukraine

Remigijus Bridikis, director of Lithuania's State Security Department (VSD), has stated that amid drone incidents, Russia is conducting an information operation against Lithuania and other Baltic states while, in the long term, testing its readiness for various scenarios, including military ones.

As reported by LRT, a Lithuanian public broadcaster, Bridikis noted that Russia's rhetoric is becoming increasingly aggressive and radical.

Bridikis said Moscow is seeking to deter Baltic region countries from continuing to support Ukraine.

"We should understand that, first and foremost, an information operation is being carried out against us in an attempt to pressure us into reducing or abandoning support for Ukraine," Bridikis said.

As Ukraine has been carrying out drone strikes in north-western Russia in recent months, some of its UAVs have crossed the airspace of Baltic states.

Russia claims that the Baltic states are deliberately allowing Ukrainian drones to use their territory for air strikes. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia categorically deny this, stressing that drones enter their airspace due to Russian electronic warfare systems.

Bridikis noted that Ukraine's strikes on critical infrastructure are painful for Russia.

He also did not rule out the possibility of further provocations by Russia.

"This could of course be part of a broader plan – we would not dismiss the assessment that within such an information environment, under pressure, certain provocations could be organised under the cover of the information backdrop and threats that are currently being spread left and right," the official said.

"One part is what the enemy sees and what it plans to do, another part is how prepared we are. In this case, it does not matter to us whose drones are flying over our territory and in which direction, but we must control our airspace and be capable of managing the situation," he added.

Last week, a Romanian aircraft shot down a drone in Estonian airspace.

The president of the European Commission stated that Russia and Belarus bear direct responsibility for drones that pose a threat to the lives and safety of people on the EU's eastern flank.