Lithuanian man charged with inciting hatred against Ukrainians on Facebook

A 57-year-old Lithuanian man has been formally charged with inciting hatred against Ukrainians after systematically posting hostile content on Facebook, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.

The Vilnius District Prosecutor’s Office has forwarded the criminal case to the Trakai Division of the Vilnius Regional Court, Lithuania’s Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement. The man stands accused of violating laws against public incitement to hatred or discrimination based on nationality.

According to pretrial investigation findings, between October 2024 and July 2025, the suspect shared 31 posts on his personal Facebook account—written in Lithuanian and Russian—that “openly mocked, ridiculed, and encouraged hatred toward people of Ukrainian nationality.” The posts allegedly included explicit approval of physical violence against Ukrainians and used “particularly crude, derogatory, and threatening language” to dehumanise and degrade them.

Investigators concluded that the posts were part of a systematic effort to foster hostile attitudes toward Ukrainians in society. Under Lithuania’s Criminal Code, public incitement to hatred or discrimination on grounds such as nationality, race, or ethnicity is punishable by fines, restriction of liberty, arrest, or imprisonment for up to two years.