Update: On April 20, a paragraph about the dissemination of the claim in Russian media was added at the beginning of the article.
In March, Russian media outlets Lenta.ru, Известия, Газета.Ru, Московский комсомолец disseminated the information that in Lithuania, God was accused of supporting Russia. According to the articles, the Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, said that God protects the actions of the Russian authorities and that this is unacceptable.
On April 13, 2023, a Georgian-language Facebook account published a post containing the same claim. Posts with similar content were disseminated by Russian-language Facebook accounts (1, 2, 3) at the end of March as well.
The claim that the Chairperson of the Seimas of Lithuania said that God protects the actions of the Russian government is disinformation. In fact, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen stated that the Kremlin presents its imperialist aspirations as the will of God, which is unacceptable.
On March 22, 2023, the Chairperson of the Lithuanian Seimas, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, met with the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I. According to a press release published on the official website of the Lithuanian Seimas, Čmilytė-Nielsen noted that Vilnius has always been a city known for religious tolerance, where people of different religions lived together. She also emphasized that the word of God was spread in Vilnius with love and not with a sword. In this context, the Speaker of the Seimas also mentioned the Russian government, which carries out its imperialist intentions in the name of God.
Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen: „In Vilnius, the word of God was spread by the expression of love rather than by the sword. Therefore, we, the residents of Vilnius and the descendants of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, find it absolutely unacceptable that the imperialistic goals of the Kremlin regime are disguised as God’s will. I told His All Holiness that it was in this light that we see the situation of the Lithuanian Orthodox.”
During his visit to Lithuania, Bartholomew I spoke about the war crimes committed by Russia and emphasized that the Kremlin uses the church as a tool to achieve its goals.
About the Source
Georgian-language Facebook user “Nona Sharabidze” regularly spreads pro-Russian posts and disinformation. “Myth Detector” has verified the false claims spread by the user a number of times in the past. For more details, see:
- Did the Resident of Zhytomyr Fall Victim to the Dismantling of the Bust of Pushkin?
- Who questions the shelling of apartment buildings by the Russian aviation?
- Disinformation as if Chocolate Named “Death to Alyoshka” is being Produced in Ukraine
- Who does the Photo Depict? – German Foreign Minister or Russian Porn Model?
Archive Link: Nona Sharabidze
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