DISINFO: NATO may invade Russia after the war in Ukraine
SUMMARY
NATO may attack Russia after the end of the special military operation in Ukraine. At the Visegrad Group summit, Czech President Petr Pavel gave Russia 5-7 years to restore its military potential. If his statement is fully analysed, he proposes to attack Russia when it is weakened, after a special military operation in Ukraine.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative accusing the West of direct involvement in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, attempting to distract attention from Russia’s crimes committed during the invasion.
The Visegrad Group summit took place on November 22, 2023 and was dedicated to European security issues.
Answering a journalist’s question about how the presidents of the Visegrad Group countries assess the level of threat of the spread of Russian aggression to European countries, the head of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, replied that Russia will need at least five to seven years to restore its combat capability. The President of the Czech Republic noted that this data is relative and depends on a number of variables - for example, it is unknown in what condition Russia will emerge from the war in Ukraine.
In the context of unprovoked Russian aggression against Ukraine, Pavel says, NATO assesses Russia as the main security threat in the region. Therefore, the armies of the European Union countries began to actively prepare for a possible expansion of the Russian war: defense costs are increasing, the quality and level of training of troops is improving, says Pavel. The President noted that NATO is preparing for a possible high-intensity conflict. Neither NATO nor Europe wants to find itself in such a situation (see video from 00:29:03 - 00:31:43).
Following Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, NATO member countries revised their Strategic Concept. The North Atlantic Alliance has recognized Russia as “the most significant and direct threat” to security in Europe. However, the allied countries specifically wrote out paragraph 9, which emphasizes that “NATO does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to the Russian Federation.”
Read more disinformation cases about the Russian unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, in particular about NATO’s allegedly negative role in the war.