DISINFO: NATO is conducting aggressive anti-Russian operations
SUMMARY
As part of Defender Europe 2021, NATO is organising numerous military training exercises in Europe which are anti-Russian in character. Without any connection to these exercises, American B-52 strategic bombers recently flew over 30 European countries. There has been a notable increase in the size and frequency of NATO’s exercises and the offensive and aggressive intentions of the Alliance are obvious.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that falsely portrays NATO as an aggressive organisation that intends to wage war against Russia.
The primary aim of the alliance is to maintain peace and safeguard the independence, security and territorial integrity of its members. NATO follows strict procedure and emphasizes transparency during military training exercises, which are announced months in advance and are subject to international scrutiny. All NATO members participate voluntarily and training exercises are conducted with the approval of the host countries.
NATO’s training exercise have an entirely defensive nature and are not specifically directed against Russia or any other country for that matter. The increase in the number of NATO’s exercises over the last years is a defensive reaction to an increasingly unstable security environment in Europe, especially due to Russia’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy. Notably, Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, thereby violating fundamental international law principles and Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Russia has participated directly and indirectly in the War in eastern Ukraine since its start in 2014, thereby posing a direct threat to Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Kremlin has engaged in numerous malign intelligence operations on the territory of NATO members, including the 2014 Vrbětice ammunitions depot explosion in Czechia, the attempted poisoning of Sergei Skripal in 2018 in the UK, and continuous interference in the elections of several countries, including the US, the UK, and France. Most recently, at the end of March-April 2021, Russia deployed tens of thousands of troops and military equipment on the border with Ukraine, which was Russia’s most aggressive military mobilisation since the start of its war against Ukraine in 2014. Despite Russia’s widespread breaches of international norms, NATO has continued to rely on its key principles of deterrence and dialogue in its relations with Russia.
On 31 May 2021, several US B-52 bombers flew over 30 European countries that are members of NATO. This was part of Operation Allied Sky specifically scheduled for Memorial Day, which is a national holiday in the US honouring all American soldiers who have died in the line of duty. The deployment of US strategic bombers in Europe, which began in 2018, is a reaction to Russia’s aggressive activities and military build-up. According to the official press statement of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa, the primary aim of the recent exercise was to showcase “shared commitment to NATO solidarity” with the intention “to deter conflict rather than instigate it”. The military aircraft of another 20 NATO members also participated in the operation.
Read similar cases of disinformation in the database claiming that Defender Europe 2021 is training for an offensive against Russia, that NATO is preparing for an offensive operation in Crimea, that NATO exercises on the territory of Bulgaria and Romania are openly anti-Russian, and that NATO strategic bombers are testing options for strikes on Belarus and Russia.