Russian media outlet "Sputnik" in its Serbian service published a survey today (May 23) regarding the political message of NATO's large-scale exercises in Kosovo?
In the selection list, the Russian media places several claims that: the fake state (i.e. Kosovo) will be the next member of NATO; pressure on Serbia to give up Kosovo; intimidation of Serbs in Kosovo, and a manifestation of force to show who is "the boss" in the Western Balkans.
After verifying the facts by hibrid.info, it was found that the political purpose of organizing joint exercises of partners and allies does not correspond to the above-mentioned claims.
Link to the survey published on "Sputnik":
The Sputnik survey in Serbian has also been published on the medium's Telegram channel. (here)
While the survey by this Russian media outlet in Serbian raises some unfounded dilemmas about the purpose of this NATO military exercise with allies and partners, the latter provide a full explanation of the reason, arguing it in detail.
Defender Europe is an annual joint multinational exercise led by U.S. European Command, designed to build readiness and interoperability among U.S. and NATO allies and partners. It is defensive in nature and focuses on deterrence of aggression. (here)
Other evidence that points to the purpose and mission of this exercise is the official Pentagon position (here), which indicates the multinational content of this military activity, where partners and allies from the Western Balkans also participate. In “Defender Europe 2023” the host country is Albania and Kosovo and 24 thousand military personnel from the armed forces of 25 NATO countries and partner countries of the United States of America, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia, participate. (here)
This is not the first time that Kosovo has hosted these military exercises. Kosovo was among the 12 countries participating in the “Defender Europe 21” military exercise. The aim of this exercise was to demonstrate the ability of the US and NATO to serve as a strategic security partner in the Western Balkans and the Black Sea regions (here)
The purpose of organizing these exercises in the Western Balkans is to serve as a strategic security partner in this area and not to intimidate Serbs in Kosovo, or pressure Serbia to give up Kosovo, or even to demonstrate force to show who is "boss" in the Western Balkans. The organization has been planned since 2021, where it has been announced that Kosovo will be one of the participants and host countries.
Analyze:
The facts prove that the political purpose of the "Defender Europe 23" military exercises is to serve as a strategic security partner in the Western Balkans and not to intimidate Serbs in Kosovo, or pressure Serbia to give up Kosovo, or even demonstrate force to show who is "the boss" in this area.
Based on the methodology of the work, hibrid.info assesses that these claims are considered "spin." This is due to the fact that this medium, for this survey, aims to disorient readers and offer readers options that result in claims not based on facts.
Rating:
The “Spin” rating is given to a media report with which the author tries to divert the public’s attention from some other content or facts that are being reported in the media at that time. A characteristic of such media reports is that they occur mainly as a reaction to another media report or a current event from which someone wants to divert attention, and which is unfavorable to some actors, mainly politics. This rating is therefore specific to the fact that it may depend on external factors, such as cases where a particular media ignores current unfavorable news on the one hand, and at the same time publishes content that is unfavorable on the other hand.