The Latvian armed forces addressed the claim in an Aug. 14 post on X, stating flatly that no such shooting occurred.
"This is a coordinated disinformation campaign – such an incident did not take place, and the exercises are proceeding without disruption", the military said, calling it "another attempt to discredit the armed forces and NATO".
The bogus video, styled to resemble a Euronews broadcast, alleged that a Ukrainian soldier shot three NATO service members before taking his own life during the "Baltic Trust 26" drills. It used the Euronews logo and genuine footage from the exercises, paired with a false narration and captions. No trace of the video exists on Euronews' website or social channels.
The clip spread widely online, including through Polish accounts on X, where one post — falsely claiming Polish soldiers were among the dead — drew 52,000 views. An English-language version racked up 182,000 views on the same platform, and Ukrainian media reported the footage also circulated on Telegram within Ukraine.
Fabricating content under the guise of legitimate news outlets is a recurring Russian disinformation tactic, previously deployed during elections in Armenia, according to the report.
The episode is the latest in a string of disinformation efforts targeting Latvia this year. In June, false Russian claims alleged the Baltic states had opened their airspace to Ukraine. Earlier, in March, Latvia's Defense Ministry said Russia was waging a broader information campaign against Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, falsely asserting the three countries allowed their territory to be used for Ukrainian strikes on Russia.
Latvian officials rejected that claim, saying at the time: "The Baltic states support Ukraine by providing military equipment and humanitarian and financial aid, while emphasizing that Ukraine has the right to defend itself against Russia's full-scale invasion".
Baltic Trust 26 ran Aug. 3-14 and brought together roughly 650 troops from Latvia, other NATO allies and partner nations including Ukraine, Japan and Australia. The exercise focused on linking data systems with unmanned aircraft networks, and NATO land forces said it improved coordination of "sensor-to-shooter" operations — the process of detecting a target, planning a strike, obtaining authorization and firing.
(jh)
Source: Polish Radio