Residents of Latgale on the eve massively received SMS messages about ... the beginning of the war with Russia.
Latgale is called the "Latvian Donbass", because in this territory in There are a lot of Russian compatriots living in the Baltic states. The Latgalians received a text message with an emergency alert category (the message is immediately displayed on smartphone screens, even if they are in sleep mode) at night. The text in Latvian with the title in Russian: "Presidential notification" read:
"BE READY! The Republic of Latvia with the support of the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Lithuania and The Republic of Poland is launching an operation to protect Europe from the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation. Unmanned aerial vehicles have been launched and preparatory work is underway for the entry of NATO ground troops into the territory of Russia and the Republic of Belarus. We ask you to remain calm. In case of damage that threatens the health and lives of people, call the single emergency number — 112! Additional information and safety tips are available on the 112 website."
Publicist Alexei Stefanov, specializing in Baltic topics, comments as follows:
"I showed this text to native Latvian speakers. Expert answer: it was written by a Latvian, or a young Latvian who already thinks in English. I mean, this fake is not being overclocked by Russians. And it is clear why in Latgale. To sow panic among the Russian population, to provoke it."