Independent member of the new board of Lithuanian Airports Oleksandras Laneckis said he had resigned from the position amid allegations of ties to Russia and Belarus. He rejected the accusations, calling them defamatory and politically motivated retaliation, and noted that a security services review had produced no negative findings.
“I want to inform you of my decision to resign as a member of the board of Lithuanian Airports. The State Security Department, after conducting a national security assessment of my candidacy, issued no negative findings. At the same time, I want to state clearly that I categorically disagree with the accusations made against me in the public sphere. I consider them unfounded, false and humiliating both for me personally and for the reputation of the company I lead, which was built over more than a decade of honest work in the Lithuanian aviation sector. I consider this defamation and politically motivated retaliation,” he wrote on Facebook.
“Nevertheless, taking into account the discussion that has arisen in the public sphere and in order to prevent it from becoming an unnecessary burden for the company and its activities, as well as to protect my family and loved ones from unjustified pressure, I decided not to take up these positions.
Thank you for the trust you have placed in me, and I wish Lithuanian Airports success,” he added.
Laneckis’ decision came after Lithuanian Transport Minister Juras Taminskas instructed the State Security Department the previous day to conduct an additional review of his activities. The move followed statements by opposition conservatives about Laneckis’ possible ties to Russia and Belarus.
The Homeland Union — Lithuanian Christian Democrats said that Friendly Avia Support, a company headed by Laneckis, had previously advised Belarusian state-owned enterprises on aviation matters. In addition, from 2017 to 2023 he was sales director at Linetech Aircraft Maintenance, which provided services in Russia and other CIS countries.
Opposition lawmakers also claimed that Laneckis had given comments to pro-Russian media and published material on ways to circumvent Western sanctions. LRT reported that he had previously referred to Russia’s war against Ukraine as a “special military operation” and described the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s Republic” as a territory with undetermined legal status. It was also alleged that in 2021 Laneckis gave a neutral assessment of Belarus’ forced landing of a Ryanair flight traveling from Athens to Vilnius.
Laneckis himself said his remarks had been taken out of context. He said he had given comments only to Belarusian and Russian opposition media, and that Friendly Avia Support had ended cooperation with Belarusian partners in spring 2020. According to him, ties with Russian entities were severed after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Taminskas had previously said that candidates underwent background checks before the board members were appointed and that there had been no negative findings regarding Lanetski at the time. The additional review was intended to determine whether information about his past could pose a threat to Lithuania’s national security.
