Russia plans disinformation campaign against Ukraine, targeting specific names - intelligence
Representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Andrii Yusov (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Russians aim to spread disinformation about the Ukrainian leadership in foreign media. They will focus on specific names, as a representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Andrii Yusov told RBC-Ukraine.
He says that the disinformation campaign planned by the Russians targets not only the media but also the information space. The campaign will be directed at the military-political leadership of the country, but specific names are not commented on as of now.
Yusov notes that the current period is crucial for Ukraine and its partners and allies. Key issues on the keeping of support for Ukraine in both defense and the economy are discussed. Over this period the enemy is preparing to intensify disinformation and information-psychological operations against Ukraine.
"If we are talking about the external audience, the goal is to weaken the support of Ukraine worldwide, split the pro-Ukrainian coalition, and provide additional arguments for opponents and critics of Ukraine globally," he explains.
Yusov says that a variety of plans for disinformation are being prepared, including the production of stories for the media. Propagandists may involve people "with a specific background" who have worked within the territory of Russia.
The main goal is to target countries with democratic institutions and a broad set of freedom of speech tools, which Russian special services directly and indirectly exploit.
"There will be nothing new. In other words, there will be repetitions of old Russian narratives about an unsuccessful state, corrupt Ukrainians, and compilation of facts from different periods. One of the characteristic features will be the concentration on people who, during this crucial period, are engaged in negotiations on the support for Ukraine. They will be the main target of the attack," clarifies the officer.
Background
On December 6, the Center for Countering Disinformation reported that Russia was preparing a disinformation campaign against the top leadership of Ukraine. As part of the campaign, Russians intend to spread a series of materials with disinformation against the military-political leadership of Ukraine in English-language resources.
