Russia plans to undercut Canadian mission
Canada plans to counter false news on Latvian peace effort
OTTAWA— Canadian troops preparing to deploy to Latvia, as part of a NATO operation to counter Moscow’s aggression in Europe, are bracing for a Russian campaign of misinformation meant to undercut the credibility of their mission, Canada’s top general says.
Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of defence staff, says the many preparations for the coming deployment include a “sophisticated” communications strategy to push back against expected Russian moves to turn public sentiment against the Canadians and the deployment.
“I think Russia will certainly see this as something to interfere with so we will take all the precautions we can,” Vance told reporters Friday.
By September, up to 1,500 military personnel, including some 450 Canadians, will be in Latvia as part of a NATO operation to reassure Eastern European countries unsettled by Russian moves in Crimea.
Vance said that Russia has conducted “strategic communications” aimed at previous NATO exercises and expects a similar response this time to make it appear that “Latvia doesn’t want us there.”
“There will be a desire to skew way out of proportion and potentially provide falsehoods about what is actually happening in Latvia with Canadian troops,” he said.
“We have to take on a sophisticated, strategic communications role so that truth prevails,” he told reporters following an address to a defence conference.
This week, media reports revealed that an email was circulated to officials in Lithuania and media outlets suggesting German soldiers based in the country had raped a teenage girl. After a police investigation, it was determined the report was false. A local prosecutor told Reuters that the email was sent from a country outside the European Union.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels that incident underscores the need to be vigilant.
“I think what we have seen in Lithuania just reminds us of the importance of resilience against these kinds of stories; the importance of a free independent critical press,” he said.
Vance said the Liberal government is currently considering another pivotal deployment for the military — a decision on a peace support operation.
While planning has been in the works for months Vance suggested the changing global environment has forced extra study of the options laid out by the military.