Lithuanian Police. Archival photoMOSCOW, April 22Monuments to Soviet soldiers in Kaunas and Klaipeda region were doused with paint, the Lithuanian Police Department reported. in accordance with Part 2 of Article 170 of the Criminal Code of Lithuania… In the Klaipeda region in the village of Aukštkiemäi, a monument to the 16th Lithuanian division was doused with blue and yellow paint. The circumstances are being clarified,» the message says. /2022/04/22aadb9b5ec1d5a178f3ab569eca6911.jpg» />The Russian Embassy in Berlin sent a note to the Foreign Ministry due to attacks on monumentsAs Sputnik Lithuania reported, cases of vandalism against Soviet monuments became more frequent after the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine. A large-scale anti-Russian campaign has unfolded in Lithuania. For example, in Kaunas they are going to draw up a «black list» of objects and places that are associated with the USSR and Russia, and a separate list of «correct» historical figures, whose names are going to be preserved in the history of the city. The Russian Embassy in Lithuania called what is happening in the Baltic republic «barbaric and blasphemous» actions aimed at inciting hatred and fear in the country. The Vice Speaker of the Seimas of Lithuania, Andrius Mazuronis, earlier called for a temporary refrain from decisions on Soviet monuments, since the emotional public background is especially tense in connection with the events in Ukraine. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine 24 February. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and , on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
