A false statement appeared on the website of the Lithuanian Armed Forces claiming that one of the aims of Operation “Saber Strike,” a US-led military training exercise in Europe, is to prepare for the annexation of Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave located between Lithuania and Poland.
The statement was quickly removed.
Operation “Saber Strike” has been conducted annually since 2010. This year, roughly 6,000 troops from 13 NATO countries are participating in exercises in Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Lithuania. The main host of the 2015 operation is Lithuania.
“The content was provocative and aimed at discrediting Lithuania and NATO… it is undoubtedly an initiative of people or institutions unfriendly towards Lithuania and NATO,” the Lithuanian Defense Minister told journalists on Thursday.