The main element of the undermining from within the Ukrainian society in the framework of the hybrid aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine is the manipulation of protest sentiments, built, inter alia, on patriotic feelings, the website of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (SVR) reported about the main external threats to Ukraine.
“The language and religious issues, the problem of external control of Ukraine, including through dependence on the IMF and other Western institutions and governments, are actively used… Provocations with attacks by alleged ‘nationalists’ on representatives of ‘opposition’ of pro-Russian forces are being inspired and inflated with information,” the message says.
The SVR also names one of the forms of pressure on the Ukrainian state the confessional situation and the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. “The Russian special services, having leverage on the religious sphere, use the Russian Orthodox Church at the same time both as ‘tough’ (inspiration of protest actions, which can easily develop into demonstrative clashes with law enforcement officers or provocateurs), and as ‘soft’ power (influence on the minds of believers). In this direction, Russia uses all available technologies to counteract the process of the formation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, manipulating the feelings of Ukrainian believers and trying in every possible way to preserve its influence on them,” the message says.
The Service also states about threats to create paramilitary formations within religious communities, endowing them with law enforcement functions, and also note the intensification of the activities of pro-Russian “Cossack” organizations, which are trying to duplicate the functions of the police in protecting public order at the local level.
“A comprehensive assessment and response of the Ukrainian state aimed at curbing Russian information aggression requires the activities of pro-Russian television channels in Ukraine,” the SVR emphasizes.
The ministry notes that Ukrainian intelligence also pays special attention to countering threats in cyberspace. “Hacker interventions into the operation of critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine, inspired by the Russian Federation, are the same instrument of a hybrid war against our state, just like armed aggression… The cyber militarization of Moscow threatens not only Ukraine but also other countries that the Russian Federation considers its enemies or competitors. It is not only about cyberattacks and gaining unauthorized access to information and telecommunication systems, but also about attempts to use social networks to manipulate public opinion, destabilize the sociopolitical situation – the so-called operations of influence,” the SVR said in a statement.
