Russia has significantly reduced its personnel and weapons in the vicinity of the Latvian border, said the NBS. Therefore, the NBS calls for a critical assessment of the tendentious speculations from various sources in the information space about a possible increase of Russia's threat to Europe, including Latvia.
The NBS calls on the public not to share these messages in order not to support the Russian propaganda machine in its attempts to sow fear about a possible Russian attack on Latvia or another NATO Member State.
The NBS said that Russia's military failure to prevail and the huge loss of resources in the more than two years of fighting in Ukraine are a sign of its systemic weakness and stagnation at all levels of its command. Moreover, for Russia to attack a Member State, a number of preconditions must be met and a specific situation must be created. The NBS therefore draws attention to the fact that such preconditions for Russian aggression against NATO members do not exist.
Recently, populist speculations about the inability of the NBS to defend the country have been voiced in the Latvian information space by various Latvian and foreign voices. Therefore, the NBS calls on the public to keep a cool head, not to share or amplify such messages - especially those disseminated by persons who are no longer serving in the Armed Forces, or who have not been involved in the defense sector at all. By sharing questionable messages, these individuals are unwittingly or knowingly doing a service to Russia's aggressive propaganda messages.
"We, soldiers and servicemen, do not take peace for granted. Like the Lithuanians and Estonians and the soldiers of other NATO member states, we prepare for war every day so that it does not happen. This is our chosen vocation and duty towards Latvia and our responsibility to every citizen of our country. Instead of once again propagating populist posts on social media, we invite everyone to strengthen national security by joining the Home Guard, the National Defence Service, or by learning basic military skills in the volunteer reserve course," reads the NBS statement.
