Lithuania's military drills, support for Ukraine, Georgia in focus of Kremlin propaganda

VILNIUS – Lithuanian military analysts in May identified 227 instances of Kremlin propaganda on defense topics, with a focus on military drills, and support for Ukraine and Georgia.

May was marked by aggressive rhetoric from Kremlin-controlled sources and regime officials, with propagandists focusing on support for Ukraine, the Lithuanian Armed Forces said in a press release on Thursday.

Propaganda channels exploited discussions about the possible deployment of NATO military instructors to Ukraine for training purposes, portraying such a move as an escalation of tensions aimed at a direct NATO-Russia confrontation.

Lithuania was portrayed in this context as "the little aggressor" seeking to provoke Russia and become "cannon fodder. In late May, forged documents circulated on social media, falsely claiming that Lithuanian soldiers were being sent to Ukraine.

Disinformation also targeted the Thunder Strike 24 military exercise, alleging that NATO was militarizing the Baltic states and preparing to attack Russia and Belarus, and portraying the drills as offensive rather than defensive.

Lithuania's attention to Georgia was depicted in hostile information channels as a brazen interference in the affairs of the sovereign state, and an attempt by the West to overthrow its legitimate government, according to the military,

Amid discussions about potentially allowing Ukraine to use NATO weapons against military targets in Russia, Lithuania's military analysts recorded propagandists' threats to NATO members and messages claiming that the Alliance's countries were responsible for alleged civilian deaths in Russia.

The analysts noted that in communicating about their nuclear exercises, Kremlin regime officials and propagandists claimed that these were a response to NATO's aggressive actions, especially in the context of support for Ukraine.

The use of disinformation by the Kremlin regime aimed to justify its own policies, and the use of aggressive rhetoric sought to intimidate Western audiences and discourage further support for Ukraine, according to the press release.