A Facebook post spreads panic, telling members of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia to pack for the front because it “looks like” NATO will join the war in Ukraine. The post supports this with a statement by the Croatian president, in which he criticizes the NSATU (NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine) mission, claiming it is causing NATO to get involved in the war, which is not true

A Facebook post claims the following:

Northlanders (Severdzani) from the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia pack your suitcase and your left boot. It seems you are going to Nazi Ukraine (there is no one here to object that you do not).

On the one hand, the post claims NATO might join the war in Ukraine, while on the other hand, the post tells the members of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia to pack for the front, as if NATO will definitely go on a rampage.

The post is illustrated with a screenshot from the news aggregator Time.mk, more precisely from a news story on the NetPress website stating Croatian President Zoran Milanović criticized the NSATU mission, considering it to be NATO’s involvement in the war in Ukraine.

Milanović has indeed given such a statement, however, it is not true this means NATO will join the war. The mission is explained on NATO’s webpage, which says the following.

In July of this year, the NATO command NSATU (NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine) mission was formed, based in Wiesbaden, Germany and with logistic centers in the eastern flank of the alliance, most likely in countries near Ukraine that are NATO members or selected partners.

The mission will have about 700 members and will deal with: support for the development of the Ukrainian armed forces and their training in allied countries, planning and coordination of donations with allies and partners, as well as the transfer of equipment and its repair.

It is emphasized how this does not make the NATO pact a party to the conflict. So, NATO is not going on a rampage, especially not with only 700 members. There were supposed to be two Croatian officers here, which is also not an impressive number, but Milanović, of course, opposed it, warning of possible dangers with the words:

NATO personnel will be present on the territory of Ukraine.

Milanović does not specify what this claim is based on and what kind of personnel it is (fighters, instructors, etc.). It is merely his opinion and it is not generally accepted throughout Croatia, while he is the target of criticism from its Prime Minister Andrej Plenković , who says:

You have to be a moron to write in some media or on a portal that Croatian soldiers are being sent to Ukraine, if it is a support mission and in the act of the Government and in the act of NATO itself it is stated that it takes place on NATO territory. Neither Ukraine is a member of NATO, nor is Wiesbaden in Ukraine.

Here we see quarrels and controversies, but no serious indications that NATO is going on a rampage. Milanović has made similar statements before, and we have been hearing falsehoods such as “NATO is fighting in Ukraine” for 2.5 years (since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion) or 10.5 years (if we begin counting from the invasion of Crimea and the beginning of the Donbas war).

Truthmeter.mk has often wrote how NATO does not take part in the war in Ukraine, and if the alliance does do that, it is highly unlikely such news would pass us by and we would find out through an amateur Facebook post.

The post also spreads the falsehood that Ukraine is a “Nazi state.” Ironically, its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is of Jewish origin, and with a bill passed on April 9, 2015, Nazi ideology was banned. As everywhere, there are some followers of the ideology in Ukraine, but they are marginal. It is also ironic that Russian neo-Nazis such as Anton Raevsky or Alexey Milchakov with the Rusich Group are fighting against Ukraine.

As for the claim that no one would object if our troops were sent to Ukraine, it is debatable. Even before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and before there was even talk of possible NATO intervention, on January 20, 2022, a protest was held in front of the Ukrainian Embassy in Skopje, at which was said:

The Macedonian people will not send their sons to fight for the interests of the USA and NATO in Ukraine.

Still, it stands to reason, that protest was a little unclear (the USA, NATO and Ukraine did not attack Russia, nor did anyone ask our soldiers to fight against it), and it was also minor, which showed that pro-Russian option does not have that much support in our country, but still, someone did protest, while democracy made it possible.

Finally, we conclude that there is truth in the screenshot, but not in the rest of the post, so we assess it is partially untrue.