Disinfo: NATO increases its presence on the western border of Moldova to intimidate Russia

Summary

A new military reality is being formed on the western borders of Moldova. NATO is constantly increasing its strength and armaments, creates secret special forces bases and conducts large-scale exercises on the borders with Russia. The goal of these actions is obvious – to intimidate Russia.

Disproof

This is a recurring conspiracy about NATO's presence in Romania. It also induces the idea that this would have a negative impact on Moldova. The article also contains a pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the West's encirclement of Russia.

Cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and NATO is based on respect for Moldova’s constitutional neutrality. The main focus of this cooperation is to support the country’s efforts to reform and modernise its defence and security structures and institutions.

NATO is not encircling Russia. Russia's land border is just over 20,000 kilometres long. Of that, less than one-sixteenth (1,215 kilometres), is shared with NATO members. Russia has land borders with 14 countries. Only five of them are NATO members.

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Reported in: Issue 168
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 01/10/2019
Language/target audience: Romanian
Country: Moldova, Russia
Keywords: EU/NATO enlargement, NATO
Outlet: Vedomosti.md

Homosexual and lesbian values lead to moral decline

Today the borderlines of good family relations blur. However, they have always been preserved by the church. Nowadays we are told: there is no mother, no farther, but only parent one and parent two. They promote homosexual and lesbian values. It is so scary, it is a real enmity against God. Afterwards they stay in the condition of moral decline. It is frightening to watch those who live in such a dissolute and licentious way.

October 08, 2019

Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about threatened values,which is used to undermine progressive Western attitudes about a variety of normative issues, including the rights of women, ethnic and religious minorities, and LGBTQ groups, among others.

As stated by Human Rights Watch, most regimes which suppress democratic values fight against LGBT rights. As of September 2019, there are 29 countries which perform and 2 more (Israel and Mexico) which recognise the legality of same sex marriages. Many churches all over the world welcome people who identify themselves as LGBT community (see an example here).

Norway carries out an aggressive anti-Russian information campaign

Recently, Norway carries out systematic work to propagate the image of Russia as an enemy. It is an aggressive anti-Russian policy based on provocative fakes.

October 08, 2019

Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative on Russophobia and anti-Russian moods in the Western countries.

No evidence given to back up the claims of “an aggressive anti-Russian policy based on provocative fakes”. Relations between Norway and Russian have deteriorated since 2014 when Norway joined other European countries in implementing anti-Russian sanctions following the annexation of Crimea and the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Since then, the countries exchanged several mutual accusations of spying. Thus, in April 2019, a Russian court sentenced Norwegian Frode Berg to 14 years in a strict-regime labour camp for spying on Russian navy submarines.

White Helmets faked the 2017 Khan Sheikhoun chemical attack

RT was granted exclusive access to an underground fortress in Khan Sheikhoun, a former terrorist stronghold. According to the Syrian Army, the underground complex doubled as a film set which the White Helmets used to record footage of a fake chemical attack in 2017.

Back then, blame for the incident, which has never been definitively settled, was pinned on Damascus, and the White Helmet videos became a pretext for a missile strike on Syria by the US and its allies.

October 08, 2019

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin narratives aiming to discredit the White Helmets and claiming that the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack was staged by Western actors in order to justify military action against the Assad regime.

The OPCW’s Fact Finding Mission confirmed that people in Khan Shaykhun were exposed to sarin, a chemical weapon, on 4 April 2017. “The OPCW FFM has confirmed the use of sarin, a nerve agent, during the 4 April incident in Khan Shaykhun in Syria,” mentioned its Director-General in a report published on June 30, 2017.