A Lithuanian electrician is accused of espionage for our country. 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.
Russia gives orders, Belarusians act as spies?
Lithuania’s Prosecutor General’s Office and State Security Department said on Monday they had identified and detained two people suspected of having collected intelligence and handed it over to the Chief Intelligence Board of the Belarusian Armed Forces’ General Staff.
“Belarus does two things, it’s spying as Belarus and it’s also acting as a proxy for the Russians. So one of the questions would be whether this is part of Belarus’ bilateral espionage efforts on Lithuania or whether this is Belarusian KGB acting on behalf of their Russian brothers,” Mr Lucas told news agency BNS by phone.
Laurynas Kasciunas, a political analyst from Lithuania, considers the statement to be ‘reasonable’ because Belarus and Russia have practically formed a military alliance for the last 10 years. His colleague Viktor Denisenko also shares Edward Lukas’ opinion. The Baltic countries, Belarus and Russia are ‘unstable’ now, the expert says. According to Mr Denisenko, one can say that a spy war between the West (including the Baltic states) and the East (Russia and its ally Belarus) has deteriorated.
“What ordinary viewers and readers see is just the tip of the iceberg, because these wars are not usually conducted overtly. On the other hand, the fact that more and more information on these secret wars is being revealed proves that the spy passions are rising,” Viktor Denisenko told belsat.eu.
What are Belarusian chekists looking for in Lihuania?
Belarusian government officials are interested in processes in Lithuania for many reasons, starting with economic issues, energy projects and finishing with the Belarusian opposition visits and its activity in the Lithuanian capital, Vytis Jurkonis, a lecturer at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University, told delfi.lt.
The suspect used to work as an electrician at Lithuanian state company Oro Navigacija (Air Navigation) which is the country’s only provider of air traffic, communication, navigation and monitoring. According to the Prosecutor-General’s Office, the alleged spy photographed documents in his work-room and then handed the pictures over to the Belarusian side. But as a rule, electricians don’t have private offices, which Oro Navigacija confirmed.
Laurinas Kosciunas isn’t surprised at the difference: “Given that his task was to take photos, what is the need of an office? If he has access to areas from where planes land and take off, he stood a chance to photograph, one doesn’t need a work-room for that. I believe they [secret services] arrested just a ‘link in the chain’, a man who couldn’t do that due to external factors. But as it often happens in such cases, it is not possible to explain everything in a cohesive way.”
The Belarusian intelligence might seek information on flights of the NATO mission in Lithuania, Viktor Denisenko suggested. “The man who is suspected of collaboration with Belarusian secret services might have had some information that was part of the whole. But this ‘whole’ is very difficult to define,” he said.
The second suspect is still under investigation, and there have hardly been any reports on the details of his case.
