The information war in Ukraine
Since the beginning of 2022, Russia has been engaged in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. To support its invasion, Russia is also waging an information war against Ukraine and other countries.
The countries of North America and Europe are priority targets for Russian misleading information and propaganda. Ukraine has battled against the Russian military invasion and information warfare, and is engaging in broad-ranging psychological defence to support its defence efforts and survival.
Advancements in information warfare and psychological defence are happening at breakneck speed in the ongoing conflict. This also alters our own security and how we need to prepare Sweden’s psychological defence to provide protection from both ongoing information influence and in the face of a full-scale information war against our country.
Russian disinformation as a weapon
Russia is also waging an information war to support its military, economic and political ambitions linked to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This information war is aimed at the whole world. Part of the Russian strategy is to try to damage confidence in the Ukrainian government and to create uncertainty in other countries to make them start doubting whether supporting Ukraine is the right thing to do. Russia adapts its information influence to different countries by exploiting their unique vulnerabilities, which makes psychological defence particularly important in today’s conflicts.
Why is it important for Sweden and the Psychological Defence Agency to support Ukraine?
Sweden’s support for Ukraine is important for several reasons. It is not just about helping Ukraine to win the fighting on the ground, but also about them winning the information war being waged in parallel. By reinforcing Ukraine’s ability to manage and respond to information influence, Sweden also helps to protect our fundamental values, such as freedom of expression and democracy.
In 2023, the Government instructed the Psychological Defence Agency to support Ukrainian authorities and civil society organisations. The mission was to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to deal with information influence and disinformation during the war.
We learn from each other
We learn a lot in our cooperation with Ukraine, and this experience can be harnessed to develop Sweden’s psychological defence. That way, we can better protect our own population from similar threats in the future.
Since the war is still ongoing, it is unclear exactly what lessons we can learn from it, and we already see that some experiences will not be transferable to Sweden’s psychological defence, due to geographical, political and cultural differences between our countries. Also, there are rapid developments in techniques and methods, and what works in Ukraine today therefore might not work in the same way in Sweden.
As developments on the information battlefield are happening at breakneck speed, support activities for Ukraine are integrated with development activities for Sweden’s psychological defence. That way, we also enhance Sweden’s capabilities in step with advancements in other countries.
Experiences from the war have given us a better understanding of the importance of active psychological defence, both for defence and attack. Experience also shows that coordinated and well-functioning psychological defence can be a powerful tool in modern conflicts.
The Psychological Defence Agency’s work in Ukraine
The Psychological Defence Agency’s support for Ukraine has covered several key areas, including assistance with strategic communication to counteract disinformation, and practical advice and support. The Agency has also held training and exercises for Ukrainian officials, with a focus on identifying and managing malign information influence, such as Russian disinformation campaigns.
Caption: The Influence Campaign card game in English and Ukrainian.
These courses have focused on strategic communication, narrative analysis and how to deal with the techniques used by adversaries to exploit vulnerabilities in the information environment.
Also, the Psychological Defence Agency has coordinated efforts with organisations in the EU, the US and the UK to strengthen Ukraine’s international collaborations and networks.
As Ukraine is at war, it is important not to disclose their insights and advanced capabilities regarding psychological defence. For this reason, the Agency cannot describe many of the activities and experiences in detail that are linked to this support.