6 August 2024

Airstrikes, Artificial Intelligence, and Sabotage Drive Russian Psyops

Yuri Lapaiev

On July 19, former member of parliament and philology professor Iryna Farion, a prominent defender of the Ukrainian language, was murdered in Lviv (The Kyiv Independent, July 19). ). The subsequent investigation stated that Farion’s murder seems to have coincided with the alleged planned murder of a current member of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament), Maksym Buzhansky, known for his ambiguous pro-Russian positions (ZN.ua, July 26). According to Maryana Reva, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, among the motives for the murder of such high-profile persons may be Russian efforts to destabilize and subvert Ukrainian society (Ukrinform, July 25). The Russian Federation continues to wage information warfare against Ukraine and the world as part of its conventional war. The main goals of this hybrid influence remain undermining the capabilities of the Ukrainian Defense Forces to facilitate Russian military operations at the front and destabilize the country’s internal political and social situation. Currently, the Kremlin has focused its efforts on several areas. One important area of emphasis is to undermine Kyiv’s mobilization drive. This is done by highlighting violations and shortcomings in the mobilization process (real and fake) and creating a negative image of the military personnel already in the Ukrainian army. Russia’s attempts at destabilizing Ukraine through hybrid warfare and the use of digital propaganda highlight the evolving state of modern warfare.

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