Catholic Church warns of Russian threat to Baltic States

THE HEAD of Lithuania’s Catholic Church has warned that Russia may be preparing to attack his country, using “new forms of warfare”, writes Jonathan Luxmoore.

“We’re members of Nato – and it’s a visible and appreciated sign of solidarity that there are US boots on the ground here,” said Archbishop Gintaras Grusas of Vilnius, 53, the bishops’ conference president. “But Russia has shown aggression against Ukraine and other countries, and we’re expecting the same here. Everybody knows from past history how dangerous the situation could become.”

The archbishop was speaking as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia announced plans to increase defence spending by a third in 2015, and the US confirmed new funds for Nato deployments under a European Reassurance Initiative. Speaking to The Tablet, he said the “propaganda war” which preceded Moscow’s involvement in Ukraine was now under way against the Baltic States.