A report published by Lithuanian intelligence services has warned of threats to national security from Belarus, which it says is deepening ties with Russia and recruiting Belarusians living abroad to gather intelligence for Minsk.
Lithuania’s Department of State Security and the Second Department of Operational Services under the Ministry of National Defense have published this year’s edition of an annual report which aims to assess threats to national security.
It accuses Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime of coercing members of the large Belarusian diaspora in Lithuania into gathering intelligence for Minsk, with threats being made against the security of family members or business interests still in Belarus.
Belarusians in Lithuania who are suspected of carrying out opposition activities against Lukashenko’s regime are also pressured by intelligence services to return to Belarus, where they face detention and interrogation, according to the report.
The report adds that, despite the risks, Belarusians living in Lithuania frequently visit their home country, where they are screened for “anti-regime” attitudes – such as supporting the Belarusian opposition – and face questioning.
The report alleges that Lithuanian citizens who visit Belarus are also targeted and face illegal detention and prosecution for criticizing Lukashenko’s regime.
The Lithuanian intelligence assessment also details Minsk’s role in Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, with Russian military aircraft regularly entering Ukraine via Belarusian airspace.
It accuses Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime of coercing members of the large Belarusian diaspora in Lithuania into gathering intelligence for Minsk, with threats being made against the security of family members or business interests still in Belarus.
Belarusians in Lithuania who are suspected of carrying out opposition activities against Lukashenko’s regime are also pressured by intelligence services to return to Belarus, where they face detention and interrogation, according to the report.
The report adds that, despite the risks, Belarusians living in Lithuania frequently visit their home country, where they are screened for “anti-regime” attitudes – such as supporting the Belarusian opposition – and face questioning.
The report alleges that Lithuanian citizens who visit Belarus are also targeted and face illegal detention and prosecution for criticizing Lukashenko’s regime.
The Lithuanian intelligence assessment also details Minsk’s role in Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, with Russian military aircraft regularly entering Ukraine via Belarusian airspace.
It alleges that some of these cases pose a threat to neighboring NATO member states, citing a September 2024 incident where a Russian drone crashed in Latvia after flying through Belarus.
The report says that Belarus has become “subservient to Russian foreign and security policy”, and that it frequently parrots Kremlin talking points regarding NATO and the war in Ukraine.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko – who in January won a seventh term in office in what was widely seen as a sham election – is one of Moscow’s closest allies.
His regime helped Russian President Vladimir Putin launch his 2022 invasion of Ukraine by allowing Russian forces to use the former soviet republic as a springboard to launch an offensive.
Belarus has also been involved in efforts to destabilize western nations in recent years, including by allegedly facilitating a migrant crisis on its borders with Poland and Lithuania.
Relations between Minsk and the EU dramatically worsened following the repression of protests in Belarus in 2020, which led to international sanctions on the Lukashenko regime.
The report says that Belarus has become “subservient to Russian foreign and security policy”, and that it frequently parrots Kremlin talking points regarding NATO and the war in Ukraine.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko – who in January won a seventh term in office in what was widely seen as a sham election – is one of Moscow’s closest allies.
His regime helped Russian President Vladimir Putin launch his 2022 invasion of Ukraine by allowing Russian forces to use the former soviet republic as a springboard to launch an offensive.
Belarus has also been involved in efforts to destabilize western nations in recent years, including by allegedly facilitating a migrant crisis on its borders with Poland and Lithuania.
Relations between Minsk and the EU dramatically worsened following the repression of protests in Belarus in 2020, which led to international sanctions on the Lukashenko regime.
