Relatives from Russia are involved: Yusov tells how the occupiers are trying to disrupt the counter-offensive
Since the beginning of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counter-offensive, relatives from Russia have been contacting the Ukrainian military on a massive scale.
As Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, explained, this is part of Russia’s information operations against Ukraine.
The enemy has no success on the battlefield, so it is looking for any way to destabilise the situation in Ukraine.
– Attempts to influence servicemen through their relatives in Russia are also part of such IPSO. This can be done to collect information or recruit, but most often it is done to reduce confidence in the decisions of the military and political leadership and to generally undermine society,” the GUR press service said.
Yusov noted that the use of personal and family contacts is a method that was actively used by the Soviet and now Russian special services.
If such IPSO is properly executed, some of the Ukrainian military may agree to more thorough communication with the Russians.
Any contact between Russians and military personnel or their relatives is either deliberately organised or at least controlled,
– They write under various pretexts: relatives, friends, classmates, classmates. There are stories when people who have not seen or heard from each other for decades get in touch. And here they come up with some personal stories or suggestions,” the GUR representative said.
Yusov is convinced that the more active the counter-offensive becomes, the more intense Russia’s attempts to put emotional pressure on Ukrainians will be.
