Russian consul to Klaipėda was spy

“In April (of 2014), Foreign Intelligence Service agent Malygin was sent out of Lithuania who, under the disguise of the Russian consul general in Klaipėda, maintained contacts with heads of municipalities, representatives of Russian compatriot organizations and top management of strategic companies,” the department said in an assessment of threats to national security.

According to the document, Malygin “aimed to acquire non-public information about positions of political parties during the Lithuanian presidential elections, possible changes in the ruling coalition after the presidential elections, the course and perspectives of the liquefied natural gas terminal project.”

“The FIS agent encouraged Lithuanian politicians and businessmen to support the Russian stance on the facilitated visa regime for residents of the region close to the border between Lithuania and the Russian Kaliningrad region, shaped their opinion in a way that Lithuania should revise its policies in the relations with Russia and follow pragmatic interests,” the State Security Department said.

After being appointed to the port city of Klaipėda in September of 2012, Malygin spent less than two years as Russia’s consul general.
Last April, officials of the Russian consulate said he was returning to Moscow after expiration of his term. Lithuania, in its turn,
recalled its consuls from Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg.

All in all, “three employees of Russian intelligence residencies were sent out of Lithuania for active spying activities,” reads the report. According to the document, “their activities included recruitment of agents, unlawful collection of intelligence information and active measures.”

The department said that a few more Russian spies working under diplomatic disguise were last year forced to leave Lithuania before the end of their accreditation, including Valery Katula whose operations were described in the last year’s annual assessment of threats.

A third of Russian diplomats working in Lithuania are officers of intelligence services or are linked to intelligence services, the State Security Department said.

According to the report, Russian agencies last year took increased interest in Lithuania’s military and other strategic infrastructure, with an increase reported in the number of attempts to recruit Lithuanian citizens traveling to Russia.