Russia detains 'Lithuania spy' amid Ukraine tensions

Russia's domestic security agency says it has arrested a suspected Lithuanian spy in Moscow.

"The foreign spy was caught red-handed as he was receiving secret documents from a Russian citizen," the Federal Security Service (FSB) said.

Lithuania has refused to comment on the claims.

Russia's relations with its Baltic neighbours have deteriorated amid fears of a spillover from the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite has previously warned of the "very real" threat of Russian aggression.

Earlier this month Lithuania said it had detained a suspected Russian spy who had been trying to infiltrate the country's leadership, law enforcement and security institutions.

In a statement, the FSB said the suspect arrested on Tuesday had admitted to being an officer of Lithuanian military intelligence.

He was being detained in Moscow's Lefortovo jail, it said.

A court later ordered the man - named as Arstidas Tamosaitis - to be held in custody for two months pending investigations, a court spokeswoman told Interfax news agency.

The arrest is the latest in a series of spy cases amid tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine.

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EU leaders gathering for a summit in the Latvian capital, Riga, on Thursday are expected to focus on the conflict in eastern Ukraine as well as the tensions in the region over the crisis.

Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine last year alarmed its Baltic neighbours in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

The three ex-Soviet states have in recent days written, external to Nato military chief Gen Philip Breedlove, asking for a brigade-sized unit to be deployed permanently in the Baltics.

Nato forces have been conducting military drills in the Baltic states in recent months, while Russian soldiers have been taking part in exercises in its region bordering Estonia and Latvia.

Lithuania has said it is reintroducing military conscription due to "the current geopolitical environment".

Last September, an Estonian security officer investigating allegations of border smuggling was seized and detained in a Moscow prison. The EU says, external he was abducted on Estonian territory.