In a disturbing turn of events, schools across Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have faced a barrage of bomb threats since Friday morning, mirroring a pattern seen in neighbouring countries. Lithuania’s police chief, Renatas Pozela, described the onslaught as a “coordinated mass attack,” revealing that hundreds of threatening emails, primarily in Russian with political content, originated from a server within the European Union.
The situation escalated in Estonia, where a wave of spam emails hit late Wednesday, prompting the closure of most schools in Tartu, the country’s second-largest city. Despite the widespread disruption, Lithuanian Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė assured the public that there was no apparent danger, emphasising that the false reports aimed to instigate panic.
The threat emails, believed to be orchestrated by hostile states, targeted Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia, according to a spokesperson for the Lithuanian security agency. The motive appears to be the disturbance and destabilisation of institutions, fostering increased mistrust within the affected countries.
Geopolitical tensions, particularly with Russia, have made the Baltic states frequent targets of information and cyber-attacks. The Baltic countries, vocal critics of Russia and President Vladimir Putin, find themselves at the forefront of this digital onslaught.
Lithuanian authorities reported a staggering 750 bomb threat emails on Friday alone, with the numbers continuing to rise. Latvia, meanwhile, downplayed the threat as low-level but acknowledged the criminal intent behind destabilising society and undermining authorities. Despite assurances, several schools in Latvia opted to suspend classes as a precautionary measure.
