Russia ramps up information warfare to drive division in Ukraine over conscription

Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation has reported an increase in Russian disinformation operations aimed at dividing Ukrainian society and destabilizing the situation in the country.

The Center highlighted that Russia is exploiting sensitive topics related to conscription to the army.

“Enemy propaganda is trying to introduce calls for protests against mobilization efforts into the Ukrainian information space. The goal of these manipulations is to divide and weaken Ukrainian society,” the report stated.

They also pointed out a rise in disinformation operations related to army conscription issues, aimed at discrediting Ukraine, in the English-language segment of the social media platform X.

Furthermore, the head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation warned about the intensification of Russian disinformation on social networks X, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. The Russians are trying to promote theories about Ukraine’s loss of subjectivity and discredit the West’s support.

The key messages are about Ukraine’s alleged loss of subjectivity, the illegitimacy of the government, and calls for a curtailment of military support from the West, the head of the National Security and Defense Council’s Center for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, said.

He answered the question about the angle from which Russian propaganda is currently presenting the story of the conversation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and former US President Donald Trump that took place on Friday, February 28.

“They choose the angle of Ukraine’s lack of subjectivity as their main story, emphasizing Trump’s assertion that Ukraine is no longer a subject and that the government is illegitimate.” Their traditional propaganda tactic is being spread in the US and Europe. Again, their task now is to disrupt the EU summit on March 6, which will be dedicated to Ukraine, as much as possible,” Kovalenko said.

“At the same time, they help to force the video of so-called “busification” (forced conscription of men by members of the military conscription office), as they call it, in particular, videos from the conscription office to Western audiences, especially American ones,” Kovalenko said.

He noted that in this way, the Russians are trying to reinforce Senator J.D. Vance’s statements about conscription in Ukraine.

“Their goal is to add more points to the Trump administration and its team in this information war, to discredit Ukraine, and to do everything possible to make it a nonentity in the future. At the very least, they want to strengthen the split between parts of Europe, Ukraine, and the United States. Playing on divisions is a traditional Russian tactic,” Kovalenko noted.

Where Russian propaganda is most active According to Kovalenko, in the Ukrainian information field, Russians are currently using TikTok and YouTube Shorts the most. As for the Western information field, X has become the main hotbed of Russian disinformation, he added.

Kovalenko stressed that X is replacing television in the US, Europe, and the Middle East, where RT and Sputnik once ruled.

In addition, Russia is expanding its presence in different parts of the world, creating additional networks for spreading disinformation and recruiting bloggers and opinion leaders to work in its interests.