At a briefing in the lower chamber of the Czech parliament on Monday, Michal Koudelka, director of the Czech Security Information Service, predicted that Russia would make an effort to block the passage of the security cooperation agreement between the US and the Czech Republic.
The US and Czech Republic’s defense ministers recently inked a defense deal in Washington, which should improve relations between the two nations. The Czech parliament still needs to approve it, though.
“It can be assumed that the Russians will use all their means, including hard disinformation, even of a personal or even intimate nature, a fifth column in our country and so on, to prevent the approval of this agreement.”
Michal Koudelka, director of the Czech Security Information Service
According to the Czech News Agency, Koudelka is persuaded that it is important to make a distinction between legitimate political discourse that is a part of democracy and defamation campaigns launched by pro-Russian actors against the pact.
A bilateral security cooperation deal between the US and several other European nations has been struck. For instance, in Slovakia, the agreement was the subject of a disinformation effort and received heavy criticism from the public and opposing parties.
Koudelka issued a warning against this kind of misinformation, which has the potential to undermine public morale and psychological well-being and sever NATO’s unity. According to him, the spread of misinformation will become more sophisticated in the future. He foresaw that it will involve the advancement and increased accessibility of technologies, particularly writing produced by artificial intelligence.
“The Russians can listen in on our phone conversations. They are positioned on the grounds of the Russian Embassy in Prague and have the necessary technical tools to do so,” Koudelka emphasized.
Photo: U.S. Army
