Operation 'Maidan-3': Russia escalates info war against Ukraine

The committee elaborated that "Maidan-3's special operation is poised to climax between March and May 2024. In the upcoming weeks, the adversary will intensify efforts to spread narratives that undermine global security and incite conflicts not only within Ukraine but also in regions supportive of Ukraine."

The committee also alerted that "as per the adversary's strategy, by the first half of June, they plan to destabilize our country, subsequently exploiting the chaos to militarily overpower Ukraine in the east, embodying the core of their operation."

Two years post the initiation of a full-scale war by Russia, Ukraine confronts a dire threat to its sovereign existence. In a bid to detract global attention from its war atrocities, Russia has commenced executing sabotage, information campaigns, and provocations.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russia's chief objectives include disrupting Ukrainian army mobilizations, propagating disinformation portraying Ukraine as doomed to defeat, and fostering disillusionment about Ukraine among global partners. "Diminishing worldwide support for our country from the pro-Ukrainian coalition represents Russia's overarching international agenda," the report highlighted.

Domestically, Russia intends to demoralize the Ukrainian populace, incite panic, pit the military against civilians, and provoke disputes between political leaders and the public.

The intelligence committee disclosed that "in November last year, as a segment of 'Maidan-3,' Russia devoted nearly 250 million dollars to fomenting anti-Ukrainian sentiment primarily through the Telegram platform. The operation's total expenditure topped an unprecedented 1.5 billion dollars, marking the costliest campaign by Russian special services to date."

One strategy includes efforts to challenge the validity of decisions by Ukrainian officials post-May 20, coinciding with President Volodymyr Zelensky's term conclusion. The Ukrainian constitution disallows election conduct during wartime, implying Zelensky's tenure extension till the conflict's resolution.

"This unfolds as Russia boasts of developing new super-weapons, which purportedly will grant Russia a technological supremacy over the West for the forthcoming decade," the committee cautioned.

Ukrainian intelligence anticipates Russia will coerce countries into direct dialogues with Moscow, excluding Kyiv, foment global protests, and tarnish the prisoner-of-war exchange process.

"The plan envisions destabilizing our country by mid-June, followed by a military onslaught in the east," the statement reiterated.

"(...) We urge Ukrainian society, our global partners, and allies to bolster our united defenses and adopt comprehensive security measures, particularly in cyberspace, to adeptly thwart the global perils and challenges posed by a new worldwide hybrid war led by the Russian Federation and its cohorts against global civilization. Unity is paramount for our society," the Ukrainian president's intelligence committee implored.