General Staff of National Army prepares Moldova to join NATO

Summary

The General Staff is openly preparing the national army for the prospective entry into the Western military bloc and the Alliance’s peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, the Middle East and the African continent.

Disproof

Recurring disinformation narratives about EU/ NATO enlargement and the West's strategy of encircling Russia, where each military exercise of Moldovan soldiers is presented as a part of a secret plan to join NATO. A similar case can be found here.

According to the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Moldova, the military exercises "Agile Hunter 2019" and "Sea Breeze 2019", to which the reference is made, aim to train soldiers and officers for peacekeeping operations.

On top of that, Moldova has never declared its intention to join NATO. It is a constitutionally neutral state, and NATO fully respects Moldova’s constitutional neutrality, as stated on its official web site. Relations with NATO started in 1992, when Moldova joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, aiming to draw closer to Euro-Atlantic standards and institutions.

Concerning a possible enlargement, at the moment, NATO counts 29 states and currently, four partner countries have declared their aspirations for NATO membership: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, the Republic of North Macedonia and Ukraine.

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Reported in: Issue 157
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 01/07/2019
Language/target audience: Moldavian, Russian
Country: Moldova
Keywords: EU/NATO enlargement, Encircling Russia, NATO
Outlet: Vedomosti.md, Fondsk.ru

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Disproof

Conspiracy theory without evidence.

This message is consistent with a classic pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on US relations with EU countries. Pro-Kremlin outlets often allege that different countries, US' transatlantic allies in this case, are US vassals and remain under the American thumb. See earlier examples: Poland is US's vassal state, Europe is occupied by the US and has limited sovereignty, the EU is directed by Washington, Germany is the executor of US hegemony over Europe.

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Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative painting Western media outlets as subservient to their respective national governments and militaries.

This claim that the New York Times sends articles to the US government for approval is misleading. The newspaper's "admission" that government officials were approached regarding the details of an ongoing story proves only that its reporters rely on sourcing - a standard and founding practice of investigative journalism.

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Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative on Flight MH17 denying Russia's responsibility. One of many examples of competing and contradictory stories promulgated by Russian state-controlled media on MH17.

The Dutch-led criminal investigation by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has been ongoing since 2014. On 28 September 2016, the JIT announced that flight MH17 was shot down by a missile from the 9M38 series, which was launched by a BUK TELAR missile system. The system was transported from the Russian Federation to an agricultural field near the town of Pervomaiskyi in Eastern Ukraine, from where the missile was launched. After firing, the system - with 1 missing missile - went back to the Russian Federation. On the 24th of May 2018, the JIT announced its conclusion that the BUK TELAR used to shoot down MH17 came from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, a unit of the Russian armed forces from Kursk in the Russian Federation.