Russia's RIA Novosti Threatens Lithuania With Nuclear War, Then Retracts
☢️ VILNIUS — The article vanished; the nuclear threat it carried didn't. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: RIA Novosti's publish-then-delete is calibrated signaling. Moscow tests reactions via state media without official commitment — deniability built in. Lithuania's vote to host NATO nuclear weapons is what Russia wants to preempt cheaply. Publication gives hardliners a precedent; deletion gives Kremlin cover. Brussels must now answer a threat Moscow can officially disown.
