Russian state news agency deletes column calling for nuclear strike on Lithuania
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti deleted a column suggesting that Russia could launch nuclear strikes against Lithuania, saying hours after publication that the article did not reflect either its editorial policy or Russian state policy.
he column, titled “Russia faces another ‘special military operation.’ It will be very short,” was attributed to Alexander Nosovich, editor-in-chief of the Russian outlet RuBaltic.ru.
Nosovich was responding to Lithuania’s move to lift its legal ban on stationing nuclear weapons on its territory.
The column argued that Russia would have options other than deploying ground forces in a potential conflict with Lithuania and explicitly suggested using nuclear-armed missiles.
“If our opponents are the first to move the conversation into the realm of a nuclear threat, Russia can even afford to refrain from deploying ground troops. Only missiles with the appropriate warhead,” the article said.
RIA Novosti removed the column about three hours after it was published.
The agency said the article “does not correspond to the opinion of the editorial board, editorial policy or the state policy of the Russian Federation.”