Montenegro, Albania seek NATO support to tackle Russian disinformation

PODGORICA — Montenegro and Albania’s defense ministers want NATO to send experts to help them counter growing Russian disinformation, as Moscow steps up hybrid attacks across Europe. In separate interviews, Montenegrin Defense Minister Dragan Krapović and his Albanian counterpart, Ermal Nufi, said the alliance should increase its support as they face social media campaigns they say aim to destabilize the Balkan nations. “Russia is continuously conducting … information campaigns that are aimed at vulnerabilities of the Montenegrin and other societies in the Western Balkans,” Krapović said. The call comes at a critical time as Podgorica is working to join the EU by 2028 and Tirana by the end of the decade. Montenegro is also due to hold a parliamentary election in summer 2027, while Albania will hold local elections in May. Ministers in both countries are clear that they need help addressing online influence operations. NATO allies first agreed to set up hybrid response teams in 2018. Antonio Missiroli, a former NATO assistant secretary-general for emerging security challenges, said a team typically consists of around a dozen experts loaned by member governments. They help coordinate a response, monitor threats and send a signal of political support. “Obviously, our capacities in terms of modernisation of the equipment, human capacities, administrative capacities, [strategic communication] capacities are not developed,” the Montenegrin minister said. Nufi said that NATO should be “more active in identifying ways to counteract malign actors online, [setting] protocols within NATO countries — and having teams of response to help any country that is in need.” But this debate has become politically charged in Albania, where Prime Minister Edi Rama has blamed Russia and Iran for stirring up ongoing anti-corruption protests that have swept the country since May. Nufi said Tirana had seen a rise in social media campaigns over the past year “fueling hatred and anger.” He added that there are “Organizations indirectly linked to Russia. We have seen their interactions online.” “NATO should look more closely at this issue,” he said. But communications expert and co-founder of the Tirana-based SCiDEV think tank, Blerjana Bino, said that while Albania has documented Russian-linked social media campaigns on other issues, no evidence supports Rama’s claim. “We see this attempt by the government as a way to delegitimize the legitimate public grievances of citizens,” she said. Ermal Nufi, left, speaks with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Brussels on June 18, 2026. | John Thys/AFP via Getty Images Both Russia and Iran have denied any involvement in the protest movement. But Russian disinformation has taken the form of social media campaigns targeting EU accession and NATO, and stoking culture wars, including over LGBTQ issues, communications expert Bino said. Local media outlets have amplified some of those narratives, she added. In Montenegro, Moscow deploys information campaigns to rally support for pro-Serbian, Russophile opposition parties and leverages its networks through the local Serbian Orthodox Church, said Ljubomir Filipovic, a political scientist and foreign influence expert at Arizona State University. Last month, police detained leading pro-Kremlin military blogger Mikhail Zvinchuk on suspicion of spreading Russian influence. Krapović said Montenegro’s 2027 election would bring more of these challenges. He also called for more high-level NATO officials to visit the country, saying that would signal Montenegro’s importance to the alliance. “NATO and the EU need to stay very present … practically and politically,” he said. Public support for NATO differs sharply between the two countries. According to a recent NATO poll conducted this spring and seen by POLITICO, 95% of Albanians support remaining in the alliance, compared with 52% of Montenegrin respondents — the lowest share of any NATO member. The alliance had prev