Fake claim about a shooting during NATO exercises
russian propaganda is spreading a fabricated report about an alleged shooting during the Baltic Trust 26 exercises in Latvia, aimed at discrediting Ukrainian military personnel and undermining trust in Ukraine’s cooperation with NATO.
A video styled as an Euronews report has appeared online, claiming that a Ukrainian serviceman allegedly shot three NATO personnel before committing suicide. In reality, Euronews did not publish such a report, and there is no information about the «incident» on official resources.
The Baltic Trust 26 exercises took place in Latvia from 3 to 14 August this year, with the participation of around 650 military personnel and specialists from NATO countries and partner states, including Ukraine. Latvia’s Ministry of Defence and the country’s National Armed Forces have already officially denied reports of an alleged shooting and the deaths of military personnel, stressing that the exercises concluded without incident.
To spread this fake, propagandists used the «Matryoshka» disinformation network, which specialises in creating fabricated materials disguised as publications by well-known international media outlets. The aim of such operations is to portray Ukrainian military personnel as a threat to their allies and discredit Ukraine’s military cooperation with NATO countries.
