Several members of an alleged Russian spy ring within the Lithuanian armed forces were detained by the national general prosecution on Wednesday in the Lithuanian city of Šiauliai, near NATO’s major Baltic air base amidst allegations they had been engaged in espionage for “a foreign intelligence service”, with authorities not ruling out Russian involvement.

Lithuanian lieutenant colonel Vidmantas Raklevičius told Russian news agency Itar-Tass that one man detained was indeed one of his officers, deployed in the Zoknai air base, a large NATO facility where the organisation’s Baltic patrol flights are coordinated.

“The special services informed me about his capture,” the colonel said, but would not unveil the alleged spy’s identity. . . .

According to Latvia’s Delfi news service the Lithuanian general prosecutor has also detained the person the group of alleged spies reported and sent collective findings to.

A recent Newsweek investigation found that Russian spying activity in Europe has returned to levels not seen since the Cold War.