Disinfo: Rail Baltica is built for the purposes of NATO

Summary

The Rail Baltica railroad is built in the Baltic States for purposes of North-Atlantic alliance. Without NATO, the purpose of this project is absolutely not clear.

Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative targetting NATO's presence in the Baltic states.

The Rail Baltica is a project of the European Union (not NATO). It is part of EU's North Sea-Baltic TEN-T corridor. The Rail Baltica is financed by the EU as well as by Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. It envisages a continuous rail link from Tallinn (Estonia) to Warsaw (Poland), going via Riga (Latvia) and Kaunas (Lithuania). The Baltic route should be completed by 2025; the link to Warsaw by 2030.

Rail Baltica will be an important catalyst of continued economic development of the Baltic States, ensuring speedy transportation of passengers and cargo. At the same time, Rail Baltica will play a role in improving military mobility in the region. However it is a civil, not a military project, and it is misleading to portray it as serving primarily NATO needs.

See similar narratives about Rail Baltica: “Rail Baltica” is a measure to build up military infrastructure in the Baltic States, The Rail Baltica Project is West’s preparation for war with Russia in 2026.

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publication/media

lt.sputniknews.ru (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 221
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 23/11/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: EU, Lithuania, Estonia, Baltic states, Latvia
  • Keywords: Rail-roads, Conspiracy theory, NATO
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Disinfo: Bucharest has a project that aims to absorb Moldova, Transnistria and some regions of Ukraine

Bucharest is hatching the project of Greater Romania, which involves the absorption of Moldova, Transnistria and Chernivtsi and Odesa regions of Ukraine. Thus, the Romanian strategists hope to turn Romania into the leader of South-Eastern Europe with access to the Balkans and the Black Sea region with the spread of Romanian influence all the way to the Caspian Sea. The existence of the Transnistrian state spoils the whole picture for the Romanians. Greater Romania cannot move forward, because there is Transnistria and Russian peacekeepers on the Dniester. The displacement of Russian blue helmets from Transnistria is a top priority for Bucharest.

Nov 22, 2020
Disproof

No evidence is given. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Romania, questioning Moldova's and Ukraine's integrity.

Romania adheres to international law regarding state borders and has no territorial claims upon Ukraine or Moldova.

Disinfo: Colour revolution and foreign scenarios in Belarus 

The Belarusian president considers what is happening in the country a scenario similar to what is being prepared in neighbouring countries and is called a colour revolution, which has failed. Countries and opposition forces are today trying to implement a new wave of protests and demonstrations, but by other methods and scenarios prepared and planned in advance.

Nov 22, 2020
Disproof

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative framing popular protests as Western-backed 'colour revolutions', part of a campaign to portray massive mobilisations in Belarus as a destabilisation effort orchestrated from abroad.

There is no evidence that the protests in Belarus are funded and organised by neighbouring or foreign countries.

Disinfo: France became one of the winners of World War II thanks to Stalin

It was Stalin who mostly made De Gaulle a world-class politician. Moreover, where would France itself be now, if not for Stalin and the USSR?

The representative of France was at that table [during the signing of the German surrender act on May 9, 1945 in Berlin] only at the behest of Stalin, because the United States and England did not see France at all among the victorious countries. The Second World War could well have ended in a terrible disgrace for France.

Thanks to the support of the USSR and Stalin’s position personally, France managed to get into not only the group of victorious powers in World War II, but also to become one of the five founding countries of the UN. That is why France is now a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Nov 22, 2020
Disproof

This recurrent disinformation narrative is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism of the events of WWII.

France and Britain declared war on Germany when it invaded Poland in September 1939 (at that time, the USRR acted as an ally of Germany and invaded Poland, the Baltic States and Finland in accordance with the Hitler-Stain Pact, also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact ). After the Phoney War from 1939 to 1940, the Germans invaded and defeated France within seven weeks and forced the British off the continent. France surrendered to Germany although the French force, in-exile, led by General Charles de Gaulle continued the liberation of France by the Western Allies UK and US. The Forces of Free France took part in combat against Axis forces at several theatres of warfare, not least on the Eastern Front, where a unit of French airmen fought together with USSR aviators.