Lithuanian prosecutors are investigating a Lithuanian citizen suspected of spying for Russia by collecting information on military facilities, equipment and troop movements, the Prosecutor General’s Office said Friday.
The Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office launched the pretrial investigation after Lithuania’s State Security Department obtained intelligence indicating that the suspect had been gathering information using methods associated with Russian intelligence and security services.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the suspect allegedly established contact through the Telegram messaging app and, acting on instructions relayed by intermediaries linked to Russian intelligence, collected information about military infrastructure and activities in Lithuania.
Investigators say court-authorised surveillance found that the suspect photographed and provided information on a Lithuanian Armed Forces battalion, a company manufacturing military radar systems and the movement of military equipment at Vilnius Airport.
The suspect also allegedly shared photographs of military hardware and offered to collect similar information while traveling in Belgium.
Prosecutors said the evidence gathered so far indicates the suspect acted knowingly to assist a foreign state and understood that the information was being passed to a person potentially representing the Russian Ministry of Defence.
Under Lithuania’s Criminal Code, collecting or transmitting state secrets or other information of interest to foreign intelligence services on behalf of another state or its representatives is punishable by six to 15 years in prison.
The State Security Department urged the public to remain vigilant against recruitment attempts and provocations, warning that Russian and Belarusian intelligence services actively use social media platforms to identify, recruit and communicate with potential agents.
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