Lithuanian State Security Dep't Lists Russia Among Key Threats to Country

VILNIUS (Sputnik) - Russia has been listed as one of the key threats to Lithuania's security in the country's National Threat Assessment report, prepared by the State Security Department and the Second Investigation Department under the Ministry of National Defence, that was released on Tuesday.

"In 2018, Russia continued its overall military build-up including in the Kaliningrad Oblast that neighbours Lithuania. In the short term, it intends to deploy additional offensive elements there as well as air defence and aviation capabilities. Russia strengthens its capabilities to start execute combat orders with 24–48 hours' notice," the report claimed.

According to the report, the Russian security services "very actively recruit" Lithuanians, allegedly manipulating common Soviet past.

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The report's authors also labeled Russia as the main threat in the cyberspace.

"Russian intelligence and security services pose major threat to Lithuanian cyber domain: they conduct intelligence gathering, disturb the performance of IT systems, and contribute to influence…  Russia's cyber activity is becoming one of the major tools used to accomplish Russian geopolitical goals not only during a conflict, but also at peacetime," the report read further.

The Russian-Lithuanian relations have been increasingly strenuous, with Vilnius trying to present Moscow as an aggressor interested in destabilising the Baltic region. Moscow has repeatedly stated that Russia has never planned to attack any NATO member state.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that the alliance recognizes this but uses the pretext of alleged Russian aggression to deploy more equipment and battalions next to the Russian borders.