In some Telegram groups, which have from 10,000 to over 80,000 followers, maps are also published with the location of Bondsteel marked, accompanied by comments such as “This is the biggest threat to Iran right now”, or maps of the range of Iranian ballistic missiles with a focus on Kosovo, with the description “Just do it”.
“Don’t judge, hit Bondsteel” or “Here’s another American base! Thanks in advance,” are some of the comments circulating on Telegram channels and other social networks since February 28, when the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran. Camp Bondsteel, located near Ferizaj in Kosovo, is the largest American military base in the Balkans.
In some Telegram groups, which have from 10,000 to over 80,000 followers, maps with the location of Bondsteel marked are also published, accompanied by comments such as “This is the biggest threat to Iran right now”, or maps of the range of Iranian ballistic missiles with a focus on Kosovo, with the description “Just do it”. One of the most visited far-right channels in Serbia on Telegram, “Bunt je stanje duha”, on March 1 also published the coordinates of the Bondsteel camp in Kosovo with the text: “They say that we are those extremists and that we should be ashamed that we want to see Bondsteel in flames”. This post had almost 18,000 views by the time the text was published.
By contrast, most of the Serbian-language Telegram channels were created after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the posts are clearly pro-Russian, harshly criticizing any cooperation with Western countries. In the last three days, they have also been following developments in the Middle East in real time.
Meanwhile, the administrators of the “Koridor” channel, which has 11,000 followers, emphasized in a post on Telegram that they will not “broadcast news about this war unless there is some significant news, such as Bondsteel being hit, because, simply, both sides have killed Serbs, so we wholeheartedly wish for both sides to disappear.” Earlier, the channel also published the coordinates of the Bondsteel camp with the description: “Coordinates for the Iranians, this is where [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and all your enemies live.” On Sunday evening, the same coordinates were shared again, along with a photo of the Iranian ballistic missile range and the comment: “You can’t reach it, can you? Come on, let’s see.”
The “Koridor” Telegram channel was previously used by the “Brigada sever”, which together with the Civil Protection was declared a terrorist organization by the Government of Kosovo in June 2023. The same coordinates of the Bondsteel camp or calls for its bombing have also been published by other right-wing pro-Russian channels, such as “Сербский Вестник”, Srpska Sparta Info and Bunker. Together they have over 50,000 followers. In addition to Telegram, the coordinates of the US military base in Kosovo have also been shared on the social networks Facebook and X. Thus, the post has also ended up in the group “Serbi i Rusi, braća zauvek”, which has around 30,000 followers, as well as in the group “Pravoslavni manastiri i crkve”, which is followed by 70,000 people.
Otherwise, for most right-wing and pro-Russian channels, Kosovo is a common theme – namely the narrative of delegitimization of Kosovo’s institutions, denial of Kosovo’s independence, as well as the promotion of radical rhetoric such as calls for military intervention. So, in the last three days, in addition to calls for the bombing of Bondsteel, one can also see messages that “the opportunity must be seized and what was taken by force must be returned”. Jeta Loshaj, a researcher at the Kosovo Center for Security Studies, who also follows the flow of disinformation on Telegram channels, says that the posts of the last few days do not pose a real threat from a military and technical point of view, since Iran does not have weapons with a range long enough to target Kosovo or wider parts of Europe.
However, she points out that the orchestrated calls for the Bondsteel bombing fit “a well-known pattern of amplifying disinformation.” “Pro-Russian networks typically exploit moments of heightened geopolitical tensions, such as the recent escalation involving the US, Israel and Iran, to spread alarmist but unverified claims. The Western Balkans, while not the central arena of these conflicts, remains a sensitive and politically fragile region. For this reason, it often becomes the subject of narratives that aim to incite anxiety, deepen divisions within communities and undermine trust in security institutions,” Loshaj tells Radio Free Europe. She adds that the impact of such messages is psychological and political. “The deliberate distribution of coordinates and the dramatic framing of messages aim to incite concern and reinforce the perception of instability in this part of Europe,” she adds.
However, she emphasizes that chain postings on Telegram channels should not be completely neglected. “For this reason, in coordination with KFOR, Kosovo institutions should regularly assess potential vulnerabilities, including considering strengthening defense capacities in the long term. Kosovo currently does not possess its own air defense systems and, although there is no immediate threat, strategic planning of future defense capacities constitutes a legitimate reason to start thinking about this now,” says Loshaj.
Earlier, Ivana Stradner, a fellow at the non-governmental Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, told Radio Free Europe that the consequences of the radical pro-Russian narrative on Telegram channels are already visible in the Western Balkan countries, as they have been actively spreading anti-Western propaganda for years, polarizing societies. As an example, she mentioned that a large number of Serbian citizens are against the EU, even though the EU provides significant assistance to that country. She also emphasized that pro-Russian Telegram channels throughout the region play an important role not only because of the number of followers, but also because they serve as “entry points into the information space.” (RFE)