Изображение: www.agents.media
Today, Russian outlet RIA Novosti published an article titled “Russia Faces Another Special Military Operation. It Will Be Very Short,” by Alexander Nosovich, a member of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy (SVOP) and one of the co-founders of the Valdai Discussion Club.
The article appears to have been prompted by the Lithuanian parliament’s approval of an amendment to the country’s Constitution removing its existing ban on the deployment of nuclear weapons. In his column, he wrote that Europeans had “reached the stage of choosing a country willing to become a nuclear storage facility.” He compared Lithuania with Ukraine: “Several years ago, cynically speaking, Russia was ‘sold’ Ukraine… Nuclear warheads a few hours’ drive from Minsk and Kaliningrad will become another commercial proposition.”
“And since our adversaries are the first to move the discussion into the realm of a nuclear threat, Russia can even afford to forgo deploying a ground contingent. Only missiles with the appropriate warheads,” the author concluded.
The publication was noticed by other media outlets, which reported on it. The column was soon removed from the RIA Novosti website. For some time, the page returned a 404 error, and the outlet later decided to explain the removal.
“The article by freelance author Alexander Nosovich was removed from the ria.ru website because it does not correspond to the editorial board’s views, editorial policy or the state policy of the Russian Federation,” the editorial office now says in a message on the page where Nosovich’s article was previously published.