Lithuania's State Security Department (VSD) has warned that "pro-Kremlin propagandists" could be conducting activities in Lithuania. Meanwhile, the country's media watchdog is considering to revoke broadcasting licenses of some Russian TV channels.
"There will be attempts by propagandists loyal to the Kremlin regime as well as at events organised in Russia to portray representatives of these groups as political figures enjoying support of a large part of the Lithuanian society, despite the fact their political influence is in fact very small," the intelligence agency said in a statement.
According to the VSD, groups of pro-Kremlin radicals acting in Lithuania have already started spreading statements justifying the actions of the Moscow regime.
"Some of the leaders of these groups have been cooperating with representatives of the Kremlin regime for many years and have been used in the past to legitimise this regime's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the war in the Donbass region," the statement reads.
Suspension of Russian channels
The Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania (LRTK) is considering suspending the broadcasting licenses of Russian TV channels in Lithuania, its chairman says.
"The administration's monitoring group and lawyers will gather all information, which is a lot, especially as sanctions have been announced for some Russian channels, so we have just started this process. We need to find reasons [to suspend broadcasting] so we are not later sanctioned by the Council of Europe, as has happened several times so far, since these are commercial matters," Rimantas Bagdzevičius told BNS on Thursday.
He could not disclose how much of Russian programming could be suspended.
"The whole thing now is because businesspeople say they are free to do whatever they want, because they have contracts," the watchdog chairman said.
Lithuanian has earlier imposed sanctions on several Russian TV channels for incitement to war and hatred. The channels were taken off air for the maximum period of one year.
After Russia attacked Ukraine on Thursday, the National Electronic Mass Media Council of Latvia banned the broadcasting of the Russian TV channels Rossiya and Rossiya 24.
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