SZR: Russia launched an information campaign to disrupt exchanges and discredit Ukraine

Russia is planning to culminate its campaign to discredit Ukraine in the context of the ongoing exchanges, tentatively on June 20. This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (FIS).

According to the SZR, the decision to launch an information campaign on the exchange of the dead was made personally by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin . The coordination of officials' actions and the instant "response" of Russian media is overseen by one of the first deputies of the head of the Russian presidential administration.

The goal of the campaign is to provoke outrage among Ukrainian society, particularly among the military and their families, at the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, to demoralize society, and to discredit Ukraine in the international arena as a party that is allegedly not fulfilling its obligations.

In the Russian-language information space, the campaign is being conducted with maximum involvement of pro-Kremlin resources – from Margarita Simonyan and Vladimir Solovyov to military correspondents and bloggers.

"These sources produce emotionally charged content, manipulate statistics, and any technical delays in the exchange process are immediately presented as a deliberate reluctance of the Ukrainian authorities to return their citizens," the SZR noted.

The campaign also includes pro-Russian proxies – marginal European information resources: the Hungarian publications Magyar Nemzet and Magyar Hírlap, the Czech portal CZ24.news, the Slovak Jednotné Slovensko, and the French-language Réseau International.

Their task is to spread Russian narratives and impose a Russian interpretation of events. Among such narratives: "Ukraine refuses to accept the bodies of its dead," "the bodies of almost six thousand soldiers have not yet been returned to Ukraine," "the relatives of the dead will have to wait longer due to the inaction of the Ukrainian authorities."

The information attack should culminate in the publication in the media of distorted or false lists of dead Ukrainian military personnel and civilians allegedly identified by Russia.

Intelligence draws attention to the fact that in this way Moscow is trying to cause a wave of panic and indignation among the Ukrainian population and shift responsibility for the crimes committed onto the Ukrainian authorities.

• The first stage of the large exchange , which was agreed upon in Istanbul on June 2, took place on June 9. The first group of wounded, seriously injured, and those under 25 years of age were able to return home.
• On June 10, the second stage of the prisoner exchange took place, during which wounded soldiers returned. The next day, 1,212 bodies of fallen soldiers were returned to Ukraine as part of the exchange .
• Before the start of the exchanges, Ukraine faced opposition from the Russian Federation and informational attacks from the occupiers.
• On June 12 , the second stage of the return of soldiers with serious injuries and illnesses took place.
• On June 14, Ukraine and Russia held their fourth exchange of prisoners of war in a week : another group of seriously ill, seriously wounded, and young people were returned home from Russian captivity.