Lithuania declares more than 1,000 Belarusians and Russians to be national security risks

By LIUDAS DAPKUS
Associated Press

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuania has declared more than a thousand citizens of Russia and Belarus living in the country to be threats to national security and said it is stripping them of their permanent residency permits. The decision came after the government asked the Russians and Belarusians to answer a questionnaire that included questions about their views on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the status of Crimea, the Ukrainian territory which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Lithuania, which declared its independence from the Soviet Union more than 30 years ago, is a democracy that belongs to NATO and the European Union. It has been a strong backer of Ukraine.