The Second Operational Service Department of Lithuania, which performs military intelligence functions, reported the detection of large-scale campaigns by hostile states to recruit local residents via social networks and messaging apps, according to LRT.
According to the department, intelligence and security services of unfriendly countries actively use online platforms to find individuals willing to carry out tasks in the interests of foreign actors. Recruiters often pose as foreign citizens and offer monetary rewards for actions aimed at destabilizing the country, including spreading materials that incite ethnic hatred.
One notable example recorded by Lithuanian intelligence involved an attempted recruitment via the Telegram messenger. Unknown handlers offered a Lithuanian citizen to post leaflets in crowded areas of Vilnius with a foreign-language message claiming the city belonged to another country. Instructions were detailed: the recruit was asked to print the materials on a color printer, post them in the city center, and photograph each leaflet as proof. Payment of 50 euros was promised for posting 100 leaflets, but upfront printing costs were refused, requiring partial task completion first.
Intelligence notes that various manipulations and blackmail are used to involve citizens in illegal activity. Targets are often people in vulnerable situations due to financial difficulties, addictions, or radical ideological views. Recruitment typically starts with simple tasks, such as desecrating monuments, painting graffiti on walls, or distributing political posters and stickers. Over time, tasks escalate into espionage: recruits are asked to observe, photograph, and provide data on the locations of Lithuanian military units and NATO forces, movement of military equipment, and information about civilian and critical infrastructure. The ultimate goal of such operations is often to prepare sabotage both in Lithuania and in other countries.
