Russia staging 'farce" on May 9 to justify its crimes - Lithuanian president

VILNIUS - Russia will use Friday's Victory Day commemoration to justify its crimes, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said on Thursday, calling the event "a farce" that deserves nothing but contempt.

"We see that Russia is trying to organize such a farce on May 9. From the heads of state who have gathered there, we can tell it will be a lamentable event, in which they will try to justify their crimes and present them as greatness," Nauseda told reporters in Macikai, a village in the western district of Silute.

"This is worthy only of contempt and can only be regretted," he added.

The Lithuanian State Security Department (SSD) warned on Wednesday of a heightened risk of sabotage, provocations and information attacks against Lithuania by Russian intelligence ahead of Victory Day.

"We're preparing for any provocations; there's an element of surprise, but our services are working, and I'm confident they'll do their job well," Nausėda said in Macikai.

"The services are warning us about these threats, and it's good they're doing so, because, as I always say, unknown information is far worse than what we already know," he added.

Lithuania did not allow the leaders of Serbia and Slovakia to cross its airspace on their way to Moscow for Victory Day celebrations.

Nausėda said Vilnius made this decision for security reasons.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico are the only European leaders planning to attend the May 9 parade in the Russian capital. Fico defied warnings from Brussels not to go.

The Kremlin has said that 29 foreign leaders - among them Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - will attend the May 9 parade in Moscow.

The end of World War II in Europe is commemorated on May 8, marking the conclusion of the war through the joint efforts of all Allied nations and the unconditional surrender signed by Germany on this day in 1945.

Meanwhile, Russia and several other former Soviet states celebrate the victory over Nazi Germany on May 9.