Russia's northern NATO neighbours are tightening security around critical infrastructure amid growing concern that Moscow could stage a “false flag” attack using Ukrainian drones.
Lithuania said last week that Moscow is considering such a staged attack, while Poland, Latvia and Estonia have also warned of acts of sabotage that could test NATO's response at a time when U.S. commitment to the Western military alliance is in question.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last month that warnings of Russian clandestine attacks are "scare stories" used to justify militarisation against Russia.
Poland and the three Baltic states, which all border Russia and have already found Ukrainian drones on their territory, are taking no chances.
"We are not naive, we see the information, we read between the lines and we are doing our homework," Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas told Reuters.
Riot police and military take up positions
Last month, Lithuania dispatched the military to back up riot police securing its liquefied natural gas import terminal, anoil products terminal, a key power link with Poland, and the Kruonis Pumped Storage Plant.
"We are clearly signaling that, if needed, we will be defending ourselves", said Kaunas.
Latvia has increased security around all critical infrastructure, including the dam on the Daugava River near Riga and the Inčukalns underground gas storage facility, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs told Reuters in an interview.
"A potential hybrid threat is more likely than it was before," he said.
Russia accused the Baltic states in May of planning to let Ukrainian drones attack Russia from their territory and pledged to retaliate, prompting denials and protests, as well as concern that Moscow may stage such an attack to justify a response.
A Baltic intelligence official said Russian military and domestic intelligence agencies may be planning a false-flag attack on infrastructure in Russia, the Baltic states or Poland.
The attack could involve Ukrainian-made drones and be carried out within days of approval from leaders including President Vladimir Putin.
Moscow says the West, out of "Russophobia", routinely accuses it of malign acts without providing evidence. NATO and the Russian embassy in Vilnius did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
The state-owned developer of Poland's first nuclear power plant, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe, said forged company documents aimed at confusing stakeholders had appeared and could be traced to somewhere "east of Poland".
The company is investigating the matter with special services and law enforcement agencies, while also monitoring for sabotage or other threats at the planned construction site, spokesman Marcin Skolimowski said.
Poland's power grid operator and an arm of the military began increasing security in July around a power link with Ukraine that helps to stabilise the war-hit country's grid, which has long been attacked by Russia.
"This is an area where heightened vigilance is required, so we are using all available resources," the grid operator's spokesperson, Maciej Wapiński, told Reuters.
The operator expects the military to eventually help secure its critical infrastructure in other eastern parts of the country.
Mysterious drones have also appeared across Europe. Last week, German officials found a drone carrying explosives at Leipzig/Halle Airport. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called it a hybrid attack but did not assign blame. Russia has dismissed suggestions by German politicians and media that it is responsible.
Wojciech Konończuk, director of the Polish state-funded OSW Centre for Eastern Studies, told Reuters that a spate of allegations from Russia that the Baltic states are working for Ukraine may be paving the way for Russian attacks there.
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