Kremlin to launch campaign to discredit movements of Russia’s ethnic minorities - intelligence

That’s according to the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, Ukrinform reports.

The campaign, set to kick off in the near future, will be aimed at compromising the ethnic groups’ desire for self-determination.

"To this end, both in Russia itself and beyond its borders – in Europe, the USA, and Ukraine, existing ‘agents of influence’ in the information and political spheres will be employed. Their task is to convey to the ‘broad masses’ the opinion about the a priori aggressive, terrorist, or even Nazi nature of any national movements," intelligence reports.

The goal of this campaign is to disrupt international support for the right of peoples to protect their rights, language, and culture. In addition, it is about forming in Ukrainian society a negative attitude towards the peoples of the Russian Federation, who suffer from the imperial policy. Traditionally, first of all, the peoples of the Caucasus, who are actively fighting for their right to self-determination, fall under the influence of Russian propaganda. In particular, it’s the Chechen opposition.

Russia’s military and political leadership currently consider national liberation movements as one of the key threats to the unity and even the very existence of Russia. They are perceived as a factor of instability, causing stiff opposition from the Kremlin's top brass.

Intelligence explains that the best way to counter such campaigns is to ignore manipulative messages, regardless of the name of the speaker spreading them. Also, it is about detecting covert "agents of influence" operating under the guise of "opinion leaders."