Alexander Topchiy22:27, 03.11.23

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Russians. Thousands more troops have deserted, reflecting deep moral problems in the Russian military.

In the 20 months since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, the largest military offensive in Europe since World War II, hundreds of thousands of Russian troops have been killed or wounded .

Ukraine doesn’t just use bullets and bombs against Russian troops. The head of the US Army Special Operations Command, Jonathan Braga, said that thanks to its information operations, Kiev forced 17 thousand Russians to desert the battlefield without firing a single shot, writes Business Insider .

Rapid advances in communications technology and the widespread use of social media platforms have made it easier for state and non-state actors to access large audiences to advance their own interests and undermine their competitors.

According to Braga, Ukraine’s propaganda efforts were an important tool in convincing thousands of Russians to leave their positions.

“The messaging played a huge role in a tactical and operational sense. We supported our Ukrainian partners there. You forced 17 thousand Russians to desert. That’s 17,000 soldiers who did not need to be blown up on the battlefield or destroyed. This weakened their defense mechanisms,” he said Braga.

Using the power of social media, military or intelligence agencies can gather detailed information about the enemy, their equipment and personnel and use this information to attack individual troops and undermine their morale.

“At the tactical level, undermining the will and morale of individual soldiers leads to undermining the overall combat effectiveness of the unit. This is a traditional military activity aimed at instilling doubt in the minds of the enemy,” Braga said.

Ukraine has carried out an impressive range of operations in the information space. Whether it’s cajoling allies to send more weapons or ridiculing Russia’s shortcomings on the battlefield, the Ukrainians have demonstrated great skill in using information to their advantage.

According to Business Insider, there are countless examples of low morale among Russians that Ukrainian forces can take advantage of, and the Kremlin is trying to counteract the consequences described by Braga. These include brutal measures such as executing soldiers who retreat or disobey orders, following the example of the Soviet Union during World War II.

“Of course, Russia has its own powerful propaganda machine. During the Cold War, the KGB used information operations as part of a broader campaign of ‘active measures’ aimed at undermining the West and undermining NATO,” the newspaper notes.

The US military also recognizes the potential of information operations. The threat of near-peer war with China or Russia has pushed the U.S. military and intelligence community to invest more in information operations so they can shape the information battlefield before, during, and after hostilities.

(C)UNIAN 2023