Lithuanian Deputy Finance Minister Valentin Gavrilov resigned on 28 January, after being accused of supporting Russia.

Gavrilov has Russian social media accounts and seemed to support the celebration of Soviet Victory Day, Lithuanian media report. On his Facebook page he apparently shared photos of the Victory Day parade in Moscow of 9 May, called for opening up the lines to the Belarusian nuclear power plant of Astravyets, and wanted to not further increase Lithuanian military spending.

The series of posts created an outcry in social media and the public debate in Lithuania, despite Gavrilov defending himself by saying he wanted to celebrate the end of World War II with this Facebook post. Both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister of Lithuania kept backing Gavrilov publicly, who resigned or was asked to resign anyway. | © 2025 Marcel Burger, nordicreporter.com