Pavlo Mezerin, «Free Ingria» Civic Movement, Saint-Petersburg
Basic tactics and strategies of the information war carried out by Russia against Ukraine are actually easy to understand. We should not believe that we deal with something unknown, since the key features of information attack and propaganda using by Russia have specific roots and historic tradition. It’s important to understand that historic legitimation in Russian version is a factor of manipulation and a basis of information philosophy of that country. Under these conditions, substitution of notions and blaming others for your own sins is the main method of warfare.
Valeriy Kravchenko, Donetsk Centre for International Security, professor of Donetsk National University
The way to understand destabilization, in the context of the information war, always lies in the plain of regional mentality and regional identity. Mass stereotypical thinking has caused loosening Donetsk collective identity: on the one hand, concrete, straightforward, pragmatic and hardworking character with the need to be an economic “master”, and on the other – absolute lack of symbols of complacence of regional ambitions. This is synthesis where the complex of inferiority was raised, that enabled manipulations at the level of consciousness. Today we witness that main features of forming the regional character have been replaced by calls for mental comeback to black-and-white rhetoric with the specific purpose to polarize the society. Based on such key notions as a language, religion, Soviet consciousness, tolerance, the call to “give a hand to a brother nation” was produced and a trend, which is harmful for Ukraine, to fill up information vacuum is being crystalized.
Andriy Karakuts, Donetsk Centre for International Security, lecturer of Donetsk National University
Information security is not a self-sustainable process. It always lies in the plain of three main layers: fundamental (international context), social (language, identity, collective relations) and individual (individual security). Today we see that information threat has acquired a militaristic character and has weight of a real menace. All this gives grounds to assert about a war on a new level, a war for identity. In terms of lost sense of collective security on the east of the country, there appear all reasons for destabilization of the situation. This is specifically where the threat for the region and opportunities for maneuvering should be sought.
