Russia’s consul general to Klaipėda Vladimir Malygin was last year sent out of Lithuania as an agent of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service who aimed to collect non-public information about the country’s politics and energy projects, the Lithuanian State Security Department said on Monday.
Malygin maintained contacts with heads of municipalities, representatives of Russian compatriot organizations and top management of strategic companies, the department said in an assessment of threats to national security.
According to the document, Malygin aimed to acquire non-public information about positions of political parties during the Lithuanian presidential elections, possible changes in the ruling coalition after the presidential elections, the course and perspectives of the liquefied natural gas terminal Project, DELFI reports.
“The FIS agent encouraged Lithuanian politicians and businessmen to support the Russian stance on the facilitated visa regime for residents of the region close to the border between Lithuania and the Russian Kaliningrad region, shaped their opinion in a way that Lithuania should revise its policies in the relations with Russia and follow pragmatic interests,” the State Security Department said.
A third of Russian diplomats working in Lithuania are officers of intelligence services or are linked to intelligence services, the State Security Department said.
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Lithuania’s State Security Department reported last December that a Lithuanian paramedic was recruited by the Chief Intelligence Board of the Belarusian Armed Forces’ General Staff and infiltrated into the Lithuanian army to perform specific tasks.
Belarus is spying in Lithuania both individually and is also acting as a proxy for Russia, claims prominent British journalist Edward Lucas, the author of a book on Russia’s spying.
www.belsat.eu/en/, via DELFI
