Ukraine Conflict

The Kyiv Independent provides fair and reliable news on a variety of topics. From Russia’s war against Ukraine and disinformation campaigns to the ongoing pandemic and medical procurement, from human rights in occupied Donbas and Crimea to reforms in Kyiv, nothing will escape the view of the Kyiv Independent.

UKRINFORM is the only national news agency of Ukraine.

Russia’s cyberwar in Ukraine includes the use of the news media and social networking websites to disseminate fake news as well as cyberattacks on governmental agencies and Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. In Ukraine, such Russian actions exploit existing social divisions and public distrust in the government’s ability to provide protection. As a result, this continuous destabilization effort has helped to justify the separatist narrative in Eastern Ukraine; it also contributed to the loss of Crimea.

This panel brings together experts on the cyber dimension of the conflict in Ukraine to explore its geopolitical context and potential trajectories. The Russian military intervention in Ukraine has taken an ominous turn recently with the buildup of Russian military forces on the Ukrainian border. This represents an escalation in a long-running conflict that began in the wake of the Euromaidan demonstrations in Kyiv in late 2013, resulting in the Russian occupation of the Crimea and military stalemate in the Donbass region. Ukraine also became one of the most active cyber battlefields in the world. Russia has conducted continuous espionage, disinformation, and subversion campaigns. Its operations have caused electrical blackouts in 2014 and 2015 and triggered the NotPetya infection in 2017. Indeed, Ukraine has become the paradigmatic example of cyber conflict in the “gray zone” between peace and war. What are we to make of the current buildup? While no one can predict the future of a dangerous and dynamic crisis like this, our panelists can provide some political and strategic context. We focus in particular on the role of cyber warfare and information operations in the current phase of this crisis. Will the future resemble the past? Should we expect cyber operations to be used as complement to or substitute for military operations? Will cyber attacks make military escalation more or less likely? How might information and disinformation operations shape the Ukrainian or NATO responses to Russian acts? And how should the United States respond?

Disinformation has been distributed by governmental agencies of Russian Federation and the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) separatist areas of Ukraine in relation to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis.

The Department of State, working with the U.S. interagency, is aware of several Russian military and intelligence entities that are engaged in information confrontation targeting Ukraine. These activities include the spread of disinformation and propaganda attempting to paint Ukraine and Ukrainian government officials as the aggressor in the Russia-Ukraine relationship. Such measures are intended to influence Western countries into believing Ukraine’s behavior could provoke a global conflict and convince Russian citizens of the need for Russian military action in Ukraine. Below are examples of Russian lies about the current crisis and its causes – and the truth.

Scott Simon speaks with Harvard's Joan Donovan about the manipulation of videos and images from the Russia-Ukraine conflict on social media and how to identify propaganda.

A look at the techniques that journalists and other investigators use to verify whether images and videos are real and in accurate context.

A disinformation researcher shares what she and her team watch for when analyzing social media posts and other online reports related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.