"We have about 900 false reports - I would like to point out that these are false reports, and I ask the public to be calm and not to panic because the intention of those who initiate these actions is to cause confusion and panic in our society," Minister Agnė Bilotaitė said.
On Friday, the Ministry of the Interior has already had several meetings with law enforcement authorities regarding these events.
"It was agreed that by the end of today's work, the Police Department will prepare a common special response algorithm to be applied to the relevant institutions, such as those in the field of health or social protection because there is a need for a lot of clarity and understanding of who has to do what, what actions follow one after the other," the Minister said.
Bilotaitė also urged all institutions to reassess their evacuation plans carefully.
According to Deputy Interior Minister Vitaly Dmitriev, police officers react to every report, so every object reported to contain an explosive is checked.
"When there are about 900 reports, yes, it (the process) is longer, but the general recommendation is to follow the rules that the building should be left until the police arrive and assess the situation, whether such a situation is real, inspect it, perhaps, and then give specific instructions to the administration of the building or the persons in the building on what to do," the deputy minister said.
According to Mr Dmitriev, the Shield plan had not yet been introduced anywhere on Friday.
Susiję straipsniai
"The messages are false, and they are sent automatically. In the end, we will probably establish that the final sender is somewhere in a country that is hostile to us, but basically, it is an automated process where a message is created and sent to many recipients through an automated process," the Deputy Interior Minister explained.
Asked why such a coordinated attack was occurring now, Dmitriev explained that the geopolitical situation was tense.
"It is difficult to say why now, but we are living in a geopolitical environment where other things are happening, whether it is migration processes or reports of attempts to affect objects necessary for our national security, we still have to react.
We understand that this is part of the hybrid threats and that hybridity is such a grey area, but in my opinion, we have to react, and when we respond, we have to give the public a clear message about what is happening," he argued.
However, Mr Dmitriev confirmed that the Ministry had received the threatening letter. Police officers are currently inspecting the MoI building.
For her part, Minister Bilotaitė assured that every school that has received a threatening letter will be inspected and every such object will be assessed. Additional capacities will also be deployed.
"This is the plan, and we are committed to doing this. We will do everything to bring the situation under control so that we can have a normal rhythm of life," said the head of the MoI.