Canadian NATO deployment to Latvia preparing for Russian smear campaign
As Canada is preparing to send its troops to Latvia, to lead one of the newly formed NATO multinational battalions, the government is preparing to face a smearing campaign led by pro-Russian actors. According to defence officials, it is probable that the deployed units will be accused of misbehaviour such as rape or sexual harassment in order to discredit NATO's effort to provide security assurances to the countries in the region.
This information appeared after reports surfaced about a quarrel between British soldiers and locals in Latvia, which by one interpretation involved drunk and violent British soldiers, and by the second interpretation the confrontation was provoked and staged for an allegedly previously prepared film crew and thus was part of "Russian propaganda plot". The Latvian authorities have not yet concluded the investigation.
Meanwhile, in Lithuania, the newly formed British 77th Brigade is conducting a training course by their Lithuanian counterparts on how to fight Russian propaganda.
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