Engaging in "dialogue" with enemy bot similar to arguing with Russian tank - intel spox

Andrii Yusov, a spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, commented on the issue for Ukrainian Radio.

"Of course, after the full-scale invasion, these contacts seemed to become very active, although on the other hand, we have a natural massive disconnection of Ukrainians from their relatives or acquaintances, childhood friends living on the territory of the aggressor state. But recently, after the Ukrainian Security and Defense Forces intensified their efforts amid the ongoing offensive, they are trying to use this influence again. For the most part, this yields no results. But they bid on public fatigue and demoralization, multiple repetitions of false propaganda narratives. They say "all this must be stopped," "main thing is peace as soon as possible," "we are brothers," "everything is America's fault,"  Yusov said, offering some examples of hostile psyops targeting Ukrainian audiences.

Along with the offensive on some areas of the front line, which the Russians are trying to pursue, they are also trying to attack the minds, morale, and hearts of the Ukrainian soldiers and their families: "It is clear that a mother or a wife, who is waiting for her son or husband from the front, is a vulnerable category. The families of our prisoners of war are also vulnerable. The enemy is actively trying to exploit these weak points, but mostly unsuccessfully," Yusov noted.

Starting a "dialogue" with an enemy bot is like arguing with a Russian tank, Yusov notes. The enemy tank deserves only one thing – destruction, and the bot – a ban. Yusov emphasized that Russia spares no money on bot farms of psyop specialists. And the longer the war grinds on, the more cunning the enemy's operation in the information space can become, Yusov emphasized.

The GUR spokesman added that all contacts in Russia carry a potential threat, however, perhaps at a certain stage they will be needed for reverse influence: "For Ukraine to purposefully influence this story, but that is a completely different matter. Now it is worth noting that only official and verified sources should be used to get the news, not fake pages. This is about the pages of organizations or officials that are official. As for the pages of actual human users, we are primarily talking about those whom you know that such a person exists, the one you can identify. Everything else should be treated with great caution," Yusov urged.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, referring to intelligence data, Russia has prepared another round of disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting Ukraine in the international arena and inciting internal political strife.