Kuleba: Russia Uses Disinformation and Cyber-Attacks to Destabilize Ukraine

In front of more than two hundred journalists from around the world, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held a press conference to, as he said, answer the following three questions: how did the escalation with Russia happen, what is happening now and what can be done?

Kuleba referred to the events of 2014 when Crimea was annexed by Russia, at a time when Ukraine was preparing to sign a strategic agreement with the EU, from which then-President Viktor Yanukovych withdrew at the last minute.

Russia has already invaded Ukraine. Eight years ago, in late February 2014, President Putin ordered Russian troops to enter Crimea, and then Russia launched a war in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donbas. This was an unprovoked and unjustified act of aggression by one state against another, Kuleba said.

Answering the second question, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister said that Ukraine is under constant threat from Russia, which does not use only military force to put pressure on Ukraine.

Russia also invests a lot in destabilizing our country from within. This includes disinformation, cyber attacks, fake bomb threats, and attempts to sow distrust and incite unrest among citizens. There are also attempts to divide Ukraine and its partners. Russian threats are already hurting our economy. The Ukrainian government is focused on maintaining financial and economic stability, Kuleba said.

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister considers that now is a crucial moment for the West to show its support for Ukraine because what is happening around Ukraine is not only important for the country.

“The West needs to turn reactive strategies to proactive when dealing with Russia. Russia’s real goals are far beyond our country. Russia aims to break the long-established order in Europe and the Euro-Atlantic area, undermine its core principles and destroy the post-Cold War security architecture that has provided decades of peaceful development and prosperity for all Europeans,” says he, and adds:

Putin and his allies are constantly asking everyone to explain, I quote, “how the partners understand their obligation not to strengthen their own security at the expense of the security of other states.” This is demanded by Russia, a country that invaded Georgia and occupied part of its country, a country that invaded Ukraine and occupied Crimea and Donbas, killed over 14 thousand people in Ukraine, continues cyber attacks against other countries, disinformation campaigns, extrajudicial killings in NATO and EU countries, Dmytro Kuleba told reporters.

Ukraine is of the opinion that only diplomacy is the answer, which, as the Minister emphasized, gives results due to the fact that dates of Russian attack have been constantly announced, while the Russian army remains on the other side of the border.

 

 

 

 

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