On Monday, Moscow accused Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania of ignoring Russia's requests to secure polling stations at its embassies on their territories.
For her part, Paulina Levickytė, an adviser to Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, stressed that the Kremlin should not preach about the elections.
„It is not for the Kremlin to explain and lecture democracies about elections. It is extraordinary that almost ten years after the occupation and illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and two years after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia is still unclear about the position of Lithuania.
I will certainly not miss the opportunity to reiterate it: we take the position that Russia's decision to organise the so-called elections on dates almost coinciding with the dates of the annexation of Crimea and to organise these elections in the temporarily occupied or illegally annexed territories of Ukraine, is an illegal and deliberate provocation by the Russian Federation,“ said Ms Levickytė.
The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that Lithuania does not and will not recognise the illegitimate holding of the Russian presidential elections or their results in the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied or illegally annexed by Russia.
„The Russian political leadership and others involved in the organisation of these elections will face the consequences of these illegal actions. This illegal step is yet another desperate attempt by the Kremlin to legitimise its control over the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, to give it the illusion of non-existent legitimacy, to continue its flagrant violation of international law and Ukraine's independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty, and to add to the long list of crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.
Lithuania is firmly committed to supporting Ukraine and its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within internationally recognised borders. Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk and Luhansk are Ukraine,“ said Ms Levickytė.
„At the same time, it should be noted that Lithuania firmly adheres to and will continue to adhere to international law and its international obligations in terms of the protection of diplomatic missions of foreign states, but the responsibility for the consequences of a possible provocation rests with the Russian Federation“, she added.
Moscow demanded that the three Baltic countries take all necessary measures to ensure the security of embassies and voters on their territories to avoid serious demonstrations by Russian citizens living in these countries.
„If sabotage continues, we will take decisive action,“ the Russian ministry warned.
