The war in Ukraine, Italian intelligence alert: “Moscow is increasing the use of disinformation and cyberattacks”

The annual report of the Italian intelligence services was presented at the headquarters in Dante’s Square in Rome. Belloni: “The world order is under discussion”

The Russian-Ukrainian war has attracted the attention of many intelligence services of foreign countries such as the United States and Britain, but Italy is no exception

As explained by Alfredo Mantovano, Deputy Minister and responsible for Intelligence of the Republic, during the presentation of the annual report of the Department of Security Information (Dis) under the leadership of Elisabetta Belloni, whose “consequences have repercussions all over the world, not just in the conflict zone,” Mantovano said. Belloni, speaking from the Dis headquarters in Rome, also explained that the Ukrainian front is usually the most disturbing: “The world order is being discussed, the consequences of the conflict have greatly affected Italy’s security.”

 Now on the first pages of the report, one can immediately read a passage dedicated to Russia’s so-called “hybrid” actions against NATO countries: “Moscow will not stop interfering with the political dynamics and decision-making processes in NATO countries, resorting even more than in the past to coercive and manipulative methods such as cyberattacks, disinformation, blackmail and the use of levers such as migration and energy, the latter destined to lose their relevance with the West’s commitment to find alternatives to energy dependence on Russia.”

Russian strategy

In the report, the Italian intelligence service also examines Russian strategy on the battlefield: “For the Russians, the operational pause is important to recover and prepare for a long-term war. 

Moscow is trying to use this period of relative stagnation to revitalize the Russian military production complex, which, while still significant in terms of production capacity, is beginning to feel the impact of Western sanctions.” The year, he adds, “also ended with President Putin’s acknowledgment of the difficulties encountered in the Donbas in countering the

Ukrainian armed forces, signaling that he would be implementing a proposed restructuring of the Russian Armed Forces — increasing the total number of troops 1.5 million soldiers

The threat to Italy

Mario Parente, director of Aisi, on the other hand, emphasized that subversive propaganda, not only regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is increasingly being pushed online, “where it is easier to approach psychologically weak subjects who can be more easily manipulated. 

As for the internal services, much attention has been focused on the Kospito case in recent months: “The fronts of anarchist activism are classic, from struggle to repression, anti-militarism, calls for action against structures, companies, banking institutions, research institutions related to military equipment.” Far-right forces, on the other hand, are involved, Parente says, in an attempt to “penetrate youthful neighborhoods.” The web activity of neo-Nazi and supremacist groups has been largely dedicated to xenophobic actions.

Russia is trying to destabilize the whole of Europe through agents of influence, both individuals and the message they tried to convey to European audiences through the Internet and the media.