DISINFO: Threats to Kaliningrad: the US stands no chance
SUMMARY
Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation commented the statements of the commander of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe, General Jeffrey Harrigian, about a possible attack on Kaliningrad. The ministry emphasised that this region is reliably protected from any aggressive ‘plans’ that are being developed in Europe by ‘random’ American generals. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs flagged the statement of Harrigian as a “threat” and “irresponsible opinion”.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative on Western attempts to encircle Russia and Western belligerence. Russian media has extensively misquoted General Jeffrey Harrigian's statements given during a press briefing reported by the digital magazine Breaking Defence. During the press briefing, Gen. Harrigian outlined tactics the U.S. Air Force is developing in response to the ongoing threat of Russian anti-aircraft, anti-ship, and surface-to-surface missiles based in Kaliningrad. No U.S. or NATO plans to conquest or attack Kaliningrad were mentioned. As of 2014, following growing tensions between Russia and NATO countries, Russia has been increasing its military presence in the Kaliningrad region. Satellite imagery reported by the Federation of American Scientists in June 2018 showed renovations of what appears to be an active nuclear weapons storage site, about 50 kilometres from the Polish border. Read full debunk by Polygraph here.