The probability that the West, which is losing in Ukraine, will organize new provocations against Russia is very high, but they will not have a long-lasting effect because lies are detected quickly today, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergey Naryshkin has told Sputnik.
"Today, when the West is losing on the Ukrainian soil, the probability of carrying out a variety of provocations is very high," the intelligence chief said in an interview. "However, I would like to emphasize that the effect of such provocations and their duration are very short, given that any secret information, including lies, very quickly becomes apparent in our modern world."
Naryshkin further noted that Western claims that Russia is allegedly planning to attack NATO is an information warfare to justify the West's current hybrid warfare against Russia.
"This is indeed an information warfare waged by the Western bloc against Russia and the population of its own countries to justify the existing hybrid aggression of the West against Russia," Naryshkin said.
In January, German newspaper Bild reported that it had obtained a "secret document" prepared by the German armed forces alleging that Russia has a plan to attack NATO's eastern flank after a successful counteroffensive against Ukraine and pushback of the Ukrainian army by June. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said later that media reports about Russia's alleged plan for the attack are nothing but fake news.
Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Western nations reacted by implementing extensive sanctions on Moscow, while simultaneously increasing their military assistance to Kiev. During the initial stage of the conflict, Russia and Ukraine engaged in several rounds of talks. However, the negotiation process eventually came to a halt.