Russian state agency briefly published, then deleted, article threatening Lithuania with nuclear strike

Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti published a column suggesting Russia was headed for another "SVO" that would be very short, threatening Lithuania with a nuclear strike. The piece was written by freelance contributor Alexander Nosovich in response to the Lithuanian parliament's decision to support lifting the ban on stationing nuclear weapons in the country.

RIA Novosti deleted the article a few hours after publication, stating it did not reflect the editorial board's views, editorial policy, or Russian state policy. A copy of the text nonetheless survived in a web archive.

Threats and language used

In the deleted column, Nosovich claimed European countries were continuing to push for moving unconventional weapons closer to Russia's borders and had selected a country willing to serve as a nuclear depot. He described Lithuania as a suicidal country with no brains, a useful idiot, and a small but proud kamikaze in Russia's near abroad.

Nosovich compared Lithuania to Ukraine and raised the possibility of invasion and a nuclear strike, writing that Russia could forgo deploying ground troops altogether and rely solely on missiles with an appropriate warhead, describing any such decision as swift and instantaneous.

Author's background

Nosovich is a member of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, a nongovernmental organization, and editor-in-chief of the pro-Russian outlet RuBaltic.Ru, based in Kaliningrad. Russian investigative outlet Dossier Center reported in 2020 that staff members of Russia's Presidential Administration and Foreign Intelligence Service ran an influence network linked to Nosovich.