Russian state news agency RIA Novosti published and then deleted a column about “another SVO” in Lithuania

The Russian propaganda agency RIA Novosti published a column titled “Another SVO awaits Russian, but it would be very short”. But the material was deleted a few hours later.

This was noted by the Russian service of Radio Liberty.

The column was written by the editor-in-chief of RuBaltic.Ru Alexander Nosovich. According to the journalistsʼ investigation, he is connected to a network of influence coordinated by employees of the Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS) and the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation.

In the text, Nosovich openly discusses what Russiaʼs reaction should be to Lithuaniaʼs recent decision to lift the ban on deploying nuclear weapons on its territory. One of the scenarios he calls missile strikes on Lithuanian territory.

The author notes that "Russia has a choice in how to fight" and claims that "thanks to geography" the war will be quick, unlike in Ukraine.

"If our adversaries are the first to shift the conversation to the plane of a nuclear threat, then Russia can even afford to refuse to deploy a ground contingent. Only missiles with an appropriate charge," Nosovich writes.

After the text began to be discussed in the media, RIA Novosti removed it from its website without explaining the reasons. Later, as Russian media write, the text appeared in place of the article:

"The article by freelance author Alexander Nosovich was removed from the ria.ru website because it does not correspond to the opinion of the editorial board, editorial policy, and state policy of the Russian Federation".

• This article appeared against the backdrop of reports from European intelligence agencies and politicians that Russia may intensify so-called hybrid operations against NATO countries — up to and including air strikes on the Baltic states.
• In particular, in July, Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas stated that Russia could be preparing a new escalation against the Baltic states and Poland. Due to this, the country decided to build a drone-proof electrical substation near the border with Russia, approximately 30 km from the Kaliningrad region.

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