The State Security Service of Latvia (VDD) has sent a request to the Prosecutor’s Office to prosecute an Estonian and Russian citizen who being recruited and instructed by the Russian special services, desecrated a memorial to the Kurzeme Fortress defenders.
The VDD investigation suggests that on January 29, 2024, the suspect and his accomplice, acting at the command Russian special services, poured paint on the memorial stone of the “Defenders of the Kurzeme Fortress – Soldiers of the Latvian Legion” near Jukste in the Tukums district of Latvia.
Latvian security service regards this as a provocation aimed at establishing an atmosphere of fear and insecurity in Latvian society.
On 8 February 2024, VDD officers detained the suspect at the Paternijeki border crossing point.
The second person involved in the desecration of the memorial, who also has dual citizenship of Russia and Estonia, is being held in custody in Lithuania.
According to Delfi news agency, last winter, several people suspected of preparing and committing provocations at the command of Russian special services were detained in the Baltic States.
Journalists from Delfi, OCCRP, and Paper Trail Media conducted an experiment in the summer of 2024, during which they corresponded with recruiters on Telegram.
Anonymous recruiters offered $1000-2000 for setting a car on fire, $10,000 for an armored personnel carrier or artillery. The search for targets and the mode of operation was left to the candidate’s discretion.
