The European Union refused to provide assistance to Italy in the fight against coronavirus, instead, this was done by Russia. European officials actively discouraged Russian aid for Italy. Europe is no longer united.
Lithuania wishes to prevent Belarus from receiving international aid from the EU and IMF for coping with the consequences of coronavirus epidemic. Lithuania wishes to get the largest amount of international aid itself.
Conspiracy theory. The disinformation message appeared after the Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda said that one cannot trust official Belarusian information about the coronavirus, adding that the situation in the neighbouring country may be worse than official data suggest. As part of its global response to the coronavirus outbreak, the European Union is mobilising an emergency support package for the Eastern Partnership countries, including Belarus. The emergency support package for the Eastern Partners consists of 80 mln euros for immediate needs and up to 883 mln euros to support the social and economic recovery of the region. As the EU member state Lithuania will have an opportunity to use a different set of measures adopted by the European Commission: including a comprehensive economic response to the coronavirus outbreak, full flexibility of the EU fiscal rules, and a €37 billion Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative. See earlier examples of disinformation about Lithuania, alleging that the West forgot about the so-called Russian threat and the Baltic states amid coronavirus, that the Baltic states may not survive the coronavirus-related economic crisis, and that even the coronavirus did not distract Lithuania from the eternal disease called Russophobia.