VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) \u2014 Lithuania\u2019s president said Wednesday that intelligence assessments suggest that Russia is planning potential attacks on critical infrastructure in the Baltic states or Poland.<\/p>\n
President Gitanas Naus\u0117da said that authorities were monitoring the risk of attacks that could disrupt the country\u2019s energy and transport systems, including facilities supporting Lithuania\u2019s connections with the European electricity grid.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot deny that we have such information and that it concerns limited kinetic operations likely targeting critical infrastructure,\u201d Naus\u0117da told Lithuania\u2019s BNS news agency. <\/p>\n
Naus\u0117da said that the intelligence didn\u2019t identify a specific location or timing for the potential attacks. He said that such provocations could involve conventional or other means.<\/p>\n
Russia dismissed the claim as an excuse to justify NATO\u2019s military buildup in the Baltics.<\/p>\n
Latvian President Edgars Rink\u0113vi\u010ds similarly warned on Wednesday that, with Ukraine increasingly effective at putting pressure on Russia, Moscow might respond with provocations against NATO\u2019s eastern flank.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven without a total Ukrainian victory, Russia may indirectly test Article 5 and response mechanisms at the Alliance and European Union levels,\u201d Rink\u0113vi\u010ds said, referring to NATO\u2019s common defense guarantee<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next few months, or even the next 12 months, will be crucial for Baltic security,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n The three Baltic states \u2014 Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia \u2014 and Poland, all located on NATO\u2019s eastern flank, have strengthened security around key transport and energy infrastructure in recent months in response to the Russian threat. <\/p>\n The countries say they have long been targets of Russian hybrid attacks, a threat that has intensified<\/a> since Moscow\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, 2022. <\/p>\n On Tuesday and Wednesday, Poland intercepted Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea that, according to the Polish government, were conducting surveillance of Poland\u2019s air defense systems, despite remaining outside Polish territorial waters.<\/p>\n In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the Lithuanian intelligence warning about Russia\u2019s purported plans to launch attacks on infrastructure in the Baltics and elsewhere in Europe.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a fresh batch of bugaboos intended to continue the brainwashing and prepare the population for further militarization,\u201d Peskov told reporters. <\/p>\n \u201cTo do this, they need to create an enemy image on the other side, our side in this case,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd use it as a pretext to continue moving NATO military infrastructure in all its forms into the Baltic states.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n Sign up for Morning Wire: Poland sent similar warnings<\/p>\n Nauseda\u2019s comments echo warnings issued in recent weeks by Polish politicians, following multiple media reports that Russia could carry out a limited military or hybrid provocation against Poland in the near future.<\/p>\n In late June, leading Polish outlet onet.pl reported that U.S. intelligence had warned its Polish counterparts about the possibility of a Russian attack. Citing its own sources, the outlet said that potential scenarios could include attacks on critical infrastructure, incursions by Russian soldiers near border areas and drone operations.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on July 3 that the warnings should be taken seriously and noted that he had been issuing similar alerts for weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cPoland is preparing very intensively for various scenarios,\u201d Tusk said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to scare anyone, but the coming months, also because of the changing nature of the war in Ukraine, could be critical.\u201d<\/p>\n Tusk said that concerns were particularly pronounced in the Baltic states.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not afraid; we are preparing for various scenarios, but we cannot take this lightly,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are conscious of the dangers also because of information coming from our allies.\u201d<\/p>\n Foreign Minister Rados\u0142aw Sikorski said that Poland had a message for Russian President Vladimir Putin: \u201cWe know what you are planning. Don\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Countries deploy additional troops to protect infrastructure<\/p>\n Gen. Raimundas Vaik\u0161noras Lithuania\u2019s chief of defense, recently confirmed that the military had deployed additional forces to help protect strategic infrastructure in response to concerns over possible Russian provocations. <\/p>\n Vaik\u0161noras told reporters that Russia\u2019s recent rhetoric targeting the Baltic states and Poland appears to serve a broader purpose, warning that Moscow has long sought to erode public trust in state institutions, the military and the government.<\/p>\n Poland had similarly intensified protection of key infrastructure following a November attack on rail infrastructure<\/a> blamed on Russia. <\/p>\n On Monday, the European Union said that Russia\u2019s FSB Center 16 had conducted cyberespionage and sabotage<\/a> against defense industries and critical infrastructure across Europe, including a December attack against a Polish combined heat and power plant supplying heat to almost 500,000 customers.<\/p>\n A recent report from the International Institute of Strategic Studies think tank said that Russia likely used shadow ships<\/a> to launch drones over Europe<\/a> that repeatedly disrupted civilian aviation between 2024 and 2026.<\/p>\n The Baltic region is under additional strain from stray Ukrainian drones<\/a> that have reached Baltic countries as Ukraine ramped up attacks on Baltic Sea ports used for Russian energy exports.<\/p>\n In mid-May, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Sili\u0146a resigned<\/a> over the government\u2019s handling of multiple incidents involving stray drones suspected to be from Ukraine crossing into Latvian territory.<\/p>\n
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