Belarus Accused of Recruiting "False Flag" Attackers Against Lithuania

Lithuania's State Security Department (VSD) has exposed a scheme it says was orchestrated by Belarusian intelligence. The goal, according to the VSD, was to stage hybrid attacks that would falsely appear to originate from Lithuania. The VSD reports that individuals posing as Belarusian officers used the Telegram messaging app. They contacted people in Belarus, offering money to launch small aircraft and balloons carrying suspicious packages from Belarusian territory into Lithuania. Lithuanian authorities say the plan was a "false flag" operation—a covert action designed to be blamed on another party. If carried out, the attacks would have created fabricated evidence suggesting Lithuania was attacking itself. This could have been used to justify political or even military responses from Belarus. The VSD stated the attempted recruitment shows Belarus is actively preparing for possible hybrid provocations. Lithuania, a NATO and EU member, has been a vocal critic of the Belarusian government. No attacks from this specific scheme are known to have been executed.