Russia looking to discredit domestic national movements, Ukrainian intelligence says
Kremlin sees threat in national liberation movements, GUR says (Photo:Maxim Shemetov / Reuters)
Russia’s security services are preparing to launch a campaign to discredit leaders of domestic national liberation movements, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said in a Telegram post on Oct. 25.
“Both in Russia and beyond – in Europe, the United States, and Ukraine – agents of Russian influence in media and political spheres will be used,” the message said.
“Their task is to convey to the ‘broad masses’ the idea that any national movements are inherently aggressive, terroristic, or even ‘Nazi’ in nature.”
According to the report, Moscow wants to use this campaign in order to try to disrupt support for the right of peoples in the Russian Federation for self-determination. Its other objective is “to form in Ukrainian society a negative attitude towards the peoples of Russia who suffer from imperial policies.” Russian propaganda is primarily targeting the peoples of the Caucasus – in particular the Chechen opposition movements.
Furthermore, the message added that the regime of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin considers national liberation movements “one of the key threats to the unity and even the very existence of Russia,” and their emergence is causing a harsh reaction from the Kremlin.
At the end of September, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the people of the Caucasus, Siberia and other indigenous peoples of Russia and called on them to resist the mobilization, announced by Putin on Sept. 21.
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