Belarus claimed on Thursday it had intercepted attempted drone strikes by Lithuania on its territory – but Lithuanian authorities have dismissed the claim as a fiction.
Ivan Tertel, head of the Belarusian Committee for State Security (KGB), said: “the KGB, in cooperation with colleagues from other structures, has recently carried out a number of acute security measures, which made it possible to prevent attacks by combat drones from the territory of Lithuania on objects in Minsk and its suburbs.”
He did not present evidence for the claim or give any details, claiming “radicals” in Lithuania and Poland are producing drones to attack Belarus.
Tertel made the claim to the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly, which includes officials, members of local councils, unions and pro-government activists and operates in parallel with the parliament.
‘Hostile provocation’
“This is nonsense; I can’t find another word,” Lithuanian military spokesman Gintautas Ciunis told journalists on Thursday.
“Such statements by the Belarusian KGB can be regarded as a continuous hostile provocation and an informational attack against Lithuania, which has nothing to do with reality. It can be considered that they are also intended for the domestic audience of the country,” the Lithuanian crisis management centre said in a statement.
Belarus is a close ally of Russia, which has deployed tactical nuclear weapons, missiles and troops in the country.
Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly boasted that Belarus would turn back any attempt by Ukraine or NATO countries to attack it.
Although Belarusian forces have not entered the Russia-Ukraine war, the country was a springboard for Russian forces that entered Ukraine’s north.
