A total of 414 unique cases that had traits of hostile information activity were recorded last month, the army said on Wednesday, down from 505 such cases in August.

The report points to a turning point in hostile communication after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization on September 21.

"Total media capacity was activated as sources and information channels at various levels started spreading disinformation messages alleging that Russia is directly at war with NATO," the army said.

Moreover, September 21 was picked for Putin's speech intentionally as the 77th session of the UN General Assembly was taking place in New York at the time and Lithuanian army analysts believe this was done to draw global attention to Russia's spread narrative and to "demonstrate its relevance in the global discourse".

"As of September 21, Kremlin-controlled media outlets have been spreading mocking and diminishing messages, undermining the authority of leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly, saying that EU countries were feeling desperate and confused after Putin's statements, that the West was alarmed by the news of a partial mobilization, and that "global representatives are panicking" at the UN headquarters," the report says.

The hostile media also sought to belittle the Baltic states by publishing articles comparing Lithuania's political elite's reaction to the mobilization to a volcano "spewing red hot lava".

The topic of "nuclear blackmail" was also actively escalated in September and dominated until the Nord Stream incident on September 27, army analysts said.

Also, statements by top representatives of NATO countries were distorted, claiming that they were considering the possibility of using weapons of mass destruction against Russia.

After the Nord Stream pipeline explosions, Russian officials accused the US of sabotage. The EU and specifically the Baltic states have also been accused of sabotage for financial gain.

In September, Lithuania-Russia relations remained in the propaganda media's focus.

Lithuania's decision to bar entry to Russian citizens as of September 19, as well as similar decisions by Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Finland, received widespread reaction.

The countries were accused of being enrooted liberal Russophobic dictatorships, of discrimination against Russian speakers, and of wanting to provoke another world war, which was, therefore, provoking Russia into military action.

Last month, there were also attempts to undermine Lithuania's statehood, sovereignty and history, to manipulate topical issues of domestic politics, and to spread negative information about the European Union and its institutions.

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