Skaisgirytė says kinetic threats in Lithuania are very real

President Gitanas Nausėda’s chief adviser Asta Skaisgirytė says kinetic threats in Lithuania are “very real”, but declined to say whether his security had been strengthened after Poland reported a suspected threat against its leaders. LRT reported her remarks on Tuesday.

Skaisgirytė said publicly available State Security Department reports had cited various hybrid threats, including kinetic ones. These do not necessarily target the country’s top officials, she said; they could involve opposition figures from Russia or Belarus, or other people in Lithuania who are actively involved in political processes.

“Unfortunately, we live in this kind of world. These days, a kinetic threat is very real and must be taken very seriously,” she told Žinių radijas.

Asked whether Nausėda’s security had been reviewed in response to possible threats, Skaisgirytė said she could not disclose that information, describing it as a matter for the relevant services.

On October 11, Poland’s Interior Ministry reported a possible threat to the lives of Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. A meeting was convened with representatives of the police, the State Protection Service and the Internal Security Agency. Tusk later said a man suspected of making threats had been arrested.