(Dan Tri) – Belarus announced that it had prevented a UAV launch from the territory of NATO country Lithuania, but did not specify which side was behind the incident.
Head of the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) Ivan Tertel (Photo: KGB).
Head of the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) Ivan Tertel announced that the country’s security forces have stopped a plot to launch combat drones from Lithuania to attack targets in and near the capital.
The operation took place recently and involved the cooperation of `colleagues from other security agencies,` Mr. Tertel said on April 25 before the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly, a leading political body of the country.
He did not provide evidence or details about the above plot.
Afterwards, Major Gintautas Ciunis, representative of the Department of Strategic Communications of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, quickly denied the accusations.
Mr Ciunis told Lithuanian media outlet LRT: `I can be 100% sure that this is false information. It makes no sense for Lithuania to carry out a drone attack on Belarus, I cannot
Zivile Didzgalviene, a Lithuanian military spokesman, called the accusation false information.
`Hostile information operations are characterized by the dissemination of false information and false accusations. The Lithuanian Armed Forces do not carry out any hostile actions against other countries,` she said.
In today’s speech, Mr. Tertel said the KGB is concerned about further escalation of tensions in the world, potentially leading to `a global-scale conflict`.
He emphasized that Belarus wants to maintain peace and independence, but its sovereignty and status as a close ally of Russia `makes it a target for the West’s destructive intentions.`
Mr. Tertel accused the US and its allies of seeking complete control of Belarus and its national assets.
Mr. Tertel stated: `Extremists are producing armed drones to carry out attacks on important locations in Belarus.`
The head of the KGB said his agency was not ready to publicly reveal details of the plot to attack Minsk, but assured that `we will continue to pay attention to this issue`.
According to him, since the beginning of 2023, the KGB has stopped more than 40 criminal operations seeking to smuggle weapons, including explosives, from Ukraine into Belarus.
He accused Ukrainian special forces of being behind many attacks in Belarus and Russia, and that this threat remains `a daily reality for members of Belarusian border guards, internal affairs and state security forces`.
The head of the KGB accused the Ukrainian government of planning to use Belarusian citizens to seize Belarusian territory and establish a Western-backed government.
Ukraine has not commented on this information.