Russia Spreads False Claims About the Baltic States

The Baltic states have jointly responded to claims by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are preparing for the mass deportation of Russian-speaking residents. The Baltic states summoned Moscow's representatives and presented them with official notes of protest.  

Euronews writes that the move by Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius is another response to a broader Russian disinformation campaign aimed at portraying the Baltic states as persecutors of national minorities and participants in the Ukrainian conflict.

Grigory Lukyantsev, an official from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, claimed on July 7 that the Baltic States "are openly preparing for the mass deportation of Russian-speaking residents" to solve the "Russian question" and the "problem of mass statelessness" on their territory.  

The governments of the Baltic states categorically rejected this, calling the claims fabrications and propaganda not based on evidence. The Lithuanian security service emphasized in its statement that this is a typical Kremlin propaganda tactic aimed at "undermining trust in democratic institutions in the Baltic states, inciting national tensions, and discrediting countries that have consistently supported Ukraine."

Euronews notes that the summoned Russian diplomat in Vilnius was handed a note confirming that Lithuania has not allowed its territory or airspace to be used for attacks on targets in Russia, and this has been repeatedly explained in contacts with Moscow. In Riga, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned a Russian representative on July 7 and presented a note of protest, categorically condemning the statements made by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin on July 4. Latvia emphasized that it has not opened its airspace for any attacks and that claims that the country is violating the rights of its Russian-speaking residents "are not supported by facts."

Estonia has reacted in a similar vein to Russia's " очередным fantasy of deportations" and summoned the Russian representative to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in connection with "the spread of disinformation concerning Estonia and other Baltic states." Through ERR, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna explained that Moscow is spreading false claims about the treatment of the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic states to "divert attention from Russia's own grave violations of international law, including ongoing attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure."