The EU warns of a new front against Ukraine
Russia has allocated approximately 1.5 billion euros to information and disinformation campaigns against Ukraine. The EU recognizes that cognitive warfare has become just as important a front as military operations. Ukraine and Europe are stepping up their cooperation to counter these influences, emphasized Gediminas Navickas, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine.
The information front has long ceased to be merely a backdrop to the war—it has become a distinct front where money, technology, and influence are deployed. According to estimates by European diplomats, Russia has spent approximately 1.5 billion euros this year alone on disinformation campaigns against Ukraine and EU countries, attempting to undermine societies from within and sow distrust.
This was stated by Gediminas Navickas, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, who emphasized that this is not about isolated, random information attacks, but rather a systematic and long-term strategy of influence that encompasses the media, social networks, and covert information operations.
According to him, Ukraine is effectively on the front lines of cognitive warfare today, and the European Union is increasingly adopting Ukraine’s experience in countering hybrid threats, as it is here that practices are being developed that are already helping to counter Russia’s information attacks. “Ukraine is on the front lines of cognitive warfare, so we need to learn from you and adopt your experience on the information front,” Navickas noted, emphasizing that information operations today directly influence political decisions, public sentiment, and stability in Europe.
The diplomat also explained that Russian intelligence agencies and their affiliated media outlets are systematically working toward several key goals: dividing Ukrainian society, weakening support for Ukraine in Europe, discrediting European integration, and distorting perceptions of Ukraine’s future EU membership.
Despite this, the European Union is convinced that the Kremlin will not succeed in achieving its strategic goals, and the response to such actions is to intensify sanctions pressure on the individuals and entities behind these information influence operations.
Navickas emphasized that cognitive warfare is no longer a theoretical concept but a daily reality that, alongside military operations, shapes the modern political landscape and influences the decisions of governments and societies.
The European Union plans to temporarily ease sanctions against a Chinese semiconductor manufacturer. According to media reports, this decision is being considered to support and protect the automotive industry in Europe, which depends on chip supplies.
