Lithuania calls on businesses and organisations that support Ukraine to increase their vigilance and fire safety, warning of possible provocations by Russia.
Russia can prepare provocations in Europe
Vilmantas Vitkauskas, Vice-Chancellor and the Head of National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC), told journalists that the provocations related to the arson are intended to cause public panic, reduce support for Ukraine, and Russian special services may be interested in this.
‘The threat of arson attacks, as we see in neighbouring countries, also exists in Lithuania, so we urge businesses and security services to be very vigilant, monitor the situation and record any suspicious events,’ said Vitkauskas.
According to Mr Vitkauskas, most calls for arson come via Telegram, offering to do ‘light work’ for a fee.
What preceded it
Several large-scale arson attacks have taken place in European countries in recent weeks. Last week, a fire was reported at an IKEA shopping centre in Vilnius, and recently a large-scale fire broke out at a shopping centre in Warsaw.
The Polish authorities do not rule out the possibility that the numerous fires recorded in the country recently may be linked to the activities of hostile foreign actors.
At the same time, the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, recently stated that there is currently no indication of foreign involvement.
