Reports
Lithuania Weekly: Weekly: Death of Alexei Navalny and undermining trust in NATO
Kremlin-aligned media outlets broadly commented on NATO and its possible faith. Outlets emphasised the questionable future of the organisation if Trump becomes the President, foreseeing that "it would be over for NATO". Outlets also pictured Ukraine's victory as impossible and ensured that "US and Europe have lost the war to Russia in Ukraine, and Crimea and Donbas will remain Russian territories". Outlets also speculated the reasons behind the death of “the US-funded and Western-praised” Alexei Navalny, seeking conspiracy theories of whom to blame and calling him “a Western puppet”.
Read moreLithuania Weekly: Putin’s interview
Kremlin-aligned media outlets were covering highly scattered topics during this reporting week. Among them, they widely discussed US journalist Tucker Carlson’s interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The authors claimed that the conversation touched on important topics such as the threat of war with NATO, the situation in Ukraine, and a possible global nuclear conflict.
Read moreLithuania Weekly: alleged embezzling of millions of euros
During this reporting week, Lithuania focused on one of the most significant financial crimes in recent history: the detainment of former BaltCap equity fund manager Šarūnas Stepukonis, suspected of misappropriating €27 million. In response to the scandal, BaltCap is withdrawing from several high-profile commitments. Notably, the investment fund has handed over the construction of the national stadium to another developer, causing delays and majorly increased costs. Pro-Kremlin outlets covered the Šarūnas Stepukonis case extensively, claiming he was not working alone and naming specific officials who “stood behind all of that”. Kremlin-aligned media outlets again used this domestic scandal to promote an anti-government narrative, accusing the current government of having direct ties with Stepukonis and jointly benefitting from the embezzlement.
Read moreLithuania Weekly: Farmers’ protest takes over in Vilnius
Lithuanian Radio and Television worked with other supporters of Ukraine to launch a second iteration of last year’s successful pro-Ukrainian RADAROM! simultaneously, posts by Kremlin-aligned actors criticising this campaign emerged online, actively diminishing support for Ukraine. Moreover, during this reporting period, a large protest by farmers occurred in the Vilnius city centre. They brought their demands to Vilnius, lining the city’s main boulevard with around 1,300 pieces of heavy agricultural machinery. Kremlin-aligned media emphasised the ignorance and incompetence of the ruling officials. Once again, a large-scale event in Lithuania has become fertile soil for Kremlin-aligned actors to spread anti-government narratives.
Read moreShowing 73 to 76 of 100 results
Don't miss a story.
We publish stories that change laws, lives, minds and the world. Subscribe to our newsletter to get our investigations delivered to your inbox.