Review of false claims about Russia in Lithuanian media (January 25 – February 1, 2023)

A dirty anti-Russian campaign is ongoing in the Lithuanian press with more and more fakes emerging to discredit our country’s foreign policy.

Among them are statements calling for the destruction all Ukrainians allegedly made by Patriarch Kirill; new planted stories about “child abuse in Ukraine” committed by our military; Russia’s complicity in the Quran burning in Sweden; “civilian torture” in the Lugansk People’s Republic; alleged assault on a Russian TV channel journalist and cameraman by Chechen soldiers of the Russian army as well as a propaganda masterpiece on dangers facing Lithuanians if they try to get an education in our country.

1) The website LRT.lt chose Russian Patriarch Kirill as a target for provocations, claiming that he allegedly called for the total destruction of the Ukrainian people. This distortion of the words spoken by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, who cautioned the Western countries against plans to undermine the integrity and independence of our country, shows the utter dishonesty of the Lithuanian media.

2) Accusations of the Russian military of “sexual violence against Ukrainian children” are another trend. These lies that had been earlier spread by the Kiev regime officials have as their only objective creating a negative image of Russian soldiers among local audiences.

3) Another absurd piece of news in the period under review was a report picked up by local propagandists from their Scandinavian neighbours about an alleged Russian hand in the Quran burning in Sweden by the Danish ultra-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) movement leader Rasmus Paludan. Such innuendo is intended to justify such barbaric acts of nationalism and xenophobia. It is worth noting that our country was among the first to condemn that provocation.

4) The site TV3.lt once again charged Russia with organising mass torture and screening procedures in the Lugansk People’s Republic. As always, no photo or video evidence was presented, which exposes these claims as false. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian media deliberately keep silent about the Kiev regime’s notorious extrajudicial killings of anyone who does not tow by the official line.

5) LRT.lt pulled another provocative trick by posting a “scoop” about an NTV cameraman beaten and a journalist “raped” in Melitopol by the Akhmat Battalion troops. Such fakes are traditionally aimed at demonising Chechen soldiers in the Russian army. The fake was promptly exposed by the NTV television broadcaster.

6) Reporters with the channel LRT posted on the website a piece where local “experts” tried to persuade the readership that getting free education in Russia is fraught with dangers. They claimed that Lithuanian nationals face “threats” in our country, in particular, the risk of being recruited by special services or “kidnapped” to pressure Vilnius as part of the sanctions war. Such a creative piece is further evidence of the dirty anti-Russia campaign pursued by official Vilnius.

There is nothing the propagandists occupying Lithuanian media won’t say in their reporting on our country and its foreign policy. The above media outlets have no concern for their readers’ interests and their right to objective information.