Russia launches massive disinfo effort to undermine support for Ukraine
That’s according to Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security, Ukrinform reports.
“The operation is coordinated at the highest level in the Kremlin and is aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian leadership and sowing distrust (in Ukraine – ed.) across the international media,” reads the report, referring to an article by the Polish outlet Nowiny Polskie.
The Kremlin’s main goal is to undermine trust in Ukrainian officials among Western partners, the report explains, adding that Russia seeks to weaken international support for Ukraine and make it more difficult for Kyiv to receive further military and economic assistance.
“The propaganda tactics include taking phrases out of context, circulating fake documents and photos, and manipulating publications in foreign media,” the report reads.
Behind these actions stands a group led by the first deputy head of the Russian presidential administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, the Center noters.
Another likely partner of the campaign is the Artemy Lebedev Studio, which creates “convincing visual and textual propaganda materials that are in line with the Kremlin’s narratives”.
The consequences of this disinformation campaign go beyond Ukraine, StratCom believes: “Western democracies are known to be taking a range of countermeasures in response, including sanctions against disinformation masterminds, labeling fake news, and refuting propaganda through fact-checking initiatives”.
As reported earlier, videos of prisoners of war being interrogated by the Russians emerge as part of the ongoing information war, aiming to demoralize Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, the Ukrainian military warned.
