Enemy plans to undermine situation with destructive narratives, inflict military defeat in eastern Ukraine in early summer
In the coming weeks, the enemy will spread narratives destructive to world security as much as possible, and in the first half of June 2024 it plans to take advantage of the shattered situation and inflict military defeat in the east, the Intelligence Committee under the President of Ukraine says.
"In conditions of conscious distraction of world public attention from the long and bloody Russian-Ukrainian war, the leadership of the aggressor country resorted to implementing a plan of prepared sabotage actions, information special operations and outright provocations," the Committee said in a statement, the text of which is posted on the Telegram channel of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
The statement says that the main directions and goals of the enemy are the disruption of Ukrainian mobilization, the spread of disinformation about Ukraine's inability to win, the creation and dissemination of fakes about fatigue from Ukraine among partners and allies in the world.
"The global international goal of Russians is to reduce the support of our country from the pro–Ukrainian coalition in the world," the statement says.
According to the text of the statement, the goal of Russians inside Ukraine is "to demoralize Ukrainians, sow panic among the population, drive a wedge between military personnel and civilians, and quarrel with everyone, including representatives of the country's political leadership and civil society."
The statement indicates that the Russian special services have extensive experience in the field of hybrid warfare and spend no less on information attacks against Ukraine than conventional warfare.
In particular, according to the Committee, in November last year, as part of the Maidan–3 special operation, the Russian Federation spent almost $250 million on spreading anti-Ukrainian sentiments on the Telegram platform alone.
"The Maidan–3 special operation will reach its climax in March-May 2024, in the coming weeks the enemy will throw maximum efforts at spreading narratives destructive to world security and attempts to foment conflicts - both inside Ukraine and in other parts of the world where there is effective support for Ukraine," the statement says.
The statement clarifies that the campaign methodology is traditional for Russian special services: "to question the legitimacy of the power decisions taken in Ukraine after May 20, to spread panic, despondency, artificially contrast civilians and the military, to quarrel with our allies, to spread all sorts of ‘conspiracy theories’ in society.
Also, as stated in the text of the statement, the Russian Federation, through its own agents of influence in Ukraine and around the world, will rely on the organization of various protest actions, deliberately discredit the process of exchanging prisoners of war.
"According to the enemy's plan, for the first half of June, the situation in our state will be rocked out of balance and then, taking advantage of this, Ukraine will be militarily defeated in the east, this is the key idea of their operation," the Committee's statement says.
In this regard, the Intelligence Committee under the President of Ukraine appeals to the Ukrainian society, international partners and allies to "strengthen common resistance and comprehensive security measures, especially in the information space, to effectively counter global threats and challenges of a new global hybrid war."