Soldier reveals only way Ukraine can win back Crimea & Donbas from Russia
Ukraine: Civil activist on ‘strengthening information policies’
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Kateryna Koval, a reserve officer in the Ukrainian armed forces and a civil activist, told Express.co.uk how heavy propaganda and information warfare waged by armies of Russian bots, puppeteered by the Kremlin have to be countered by a “strong information policy” launched by Ukraine to win back the minds of thousands of Ukrainians under Russian-rule. The comments follow major concerns of an invasion of Ukraine by Russia, who have over 100,000 troops and military hardware piled up on Ukraine’s border.
Ms Koval explained how one of the challenges for Ukraine moving forward is to strengthen its information policy in the absence of a full military fight back.
She explained this was vital in showing the people in Donbas and in Crimea about the routes they can take back to Ukraine.
But she stressed this must also include a raft of “social guarantees” for the people who would like to leave the occupied regions.
The soldier said: “In the modern world, we need to understand that to make our territories de-occupated it is our own challenge.
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“And we should work more under this question.”
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 when soldiers bearing no insignias entered the Crimean Peninsula in an almost bloodless takeover of power.
The move was followed by the War in Donbas between Ukrainian Government forces and Russian-backed militants, 14,000 people have died in the fighting.
But explaining the importance of Ukraine’s response, she noted how an entire generation of children have grown up under Russian occupation in Crimea and Russian influence in the Donbas.
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As a result, she said it is vital that Ukraine pushes such an information campaign to show future generations what life can be like under Ukraine instead of Russia, in the hope that a future generation can be inspired to take up the call of Ukraine over Russia.
It comes amid fears Russia has influenced the minds of millions of Ukrainians in the Crimea and eastern Donbas region.
Explaining the information wars waged by Russia, Ms Koval said: “They have armies of trolls and bots in social networks like Twitter, like Facebook, like Instagram.
“And they use lots of messages concerning war, lots of messages concerning that NATO is the challenge for Russia.”
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She added how online campaigns also focus on persuading the public not to throw their support behind Ukraine’s possible ascension to NATO.
President Putin has repeatedly claimed his move to amass so many soldiers on Ukraine’s border is to counter what he claims is increasing aggression frm NATO against Russia and its allies, he also insists NATO and its expansion threaten Russian interests in eastern Europe.
On Saturday UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused Russia of an attempt to install a pro-Kremlin presidential candidate in the Ukrainian government.
It comes as fears are also mounting of Russia weaponising gas supplies amid the uptick in tensions on the border of Ukraine, which would see President Putin take advantage of a Europe-wide shortage of gas which has sent prices rising.
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