DISINFO: Because of NATO, the Czech Army cannot defend Czech citizens
SUMMARY
Because of NATO, the Czech Army is oriented towards expansion, but will not be able to defend Czech citizens if needed.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative portraying NATO and its members as a threat to global peace because of their aggressive military agenda. The essential mission of the Czech Armed Forces is to prepare for the defence of the Czech Republic and to defend it against external attacks (see the Defence Strategy of the Czech Republic). Contrary to the claim above, the Czech Army is preparing for external expansion as a result of NATO membership. Like all NATO members, which have joined the alliance as a result of their own sovereign national choice, the Czech Republic considers its membership in NATO as a vital guarantee for its freedom and national security. Read more about the defence policy of the Czech Army here - Long Term Perspective for Defence 2035. NATO's purpose is to protect its members. Its exercises and military deployments are not directed against Russia or any other country. The claim that NATO is encircling or threatening Russia is one of the common pro-Kremlin disinformation myths about the alliance. NATO regularly updates the military requirements for civilian infrastructure, at a time when there are increased challenges to security. Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and amid emerging security challenges in the Middle East and North Africa in 2014, NATO leaders at the Wales Summit adopted the Readiness Action Plan, a comprehensive package of enhanced collective defence and deterrent measures designed to ensure the transatlantic alliance could respond swiftly and firmly to changes in its security environment. See several other anti-NATO narratives such as NATO provoking Russia; NATO being fully subordinated to the USA; Eastern European countries as NATO “hostages” (Baltic states, Moldova, Poland).