Kremlin uses Zelensky's conflicts to split Ukraine - Schemes
Kyiv • UNN
The Russian Social Design Agency is using internal conflicts in Ukraine to destabilize the country. It spreads disinformation about the country's leadership and produces forged documents to discredit the Armed Forces.
The Russian “Social Design Agency” (SDA) of political strategist Ilya Gambashidze, which works on behalf of the Russian Presidential Administration, is actively using the difficult relations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his internal opponents - former President Petro Poroshenko, former Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyy, and current Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko - to polarize society and destabilize the political situation in Ukraine. This is stated in the investigation of the Radio Liberty project “Schemes”, reports UNN.
Details
Journalists of Skhemy received internal documents of the Social Design Agency, which is under EU and US sanctions, as part of an international journalistic consortium that includes the German media Süddeutsche Zeitung, NDR, WDR, and the Estonian publication Delfi. Some of these documents were also made public by US law enforcement.
Fake news factory: disinformation and discrediting the Ukrainian leadership
The leaked documents describe disinformation strategies used by the Kremlin to undermine the situation in Ukraine. One of these narratives is to discredit the country's top leadership by leaking fictitious military negotiations that allegedly discuss Zaluzhnyi's possible resignation and President Zelenskyi's lack of authority among officers.
The party also planned to use the potential resignation of Zaluzhnyi to promote the following theses: “If Zaluzhnyi had been there, Avdiivka would not have been surrendered.” In addition, the agency developed the “Who are you for?” campaign, which contrasted Zelenskyi with Zaluzhnyi and Zelenskyi with Klitschko, distributing thematic infographics, memes, and cartoons aimed at both Ukrainian and European audiences.
Forgery of documents to discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine
In addition to information campaigns, ASD produces forged official documents to discredit the Ukrainian military. Among these fakes is a fabricated order allegedly issued by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, equating surrender to treason. The purpose of this is to discredit the military and political leadership of Ukraine and demoralize the Armed Forces.
Skhemy journalists, together with their European colleagues, have studied thousands of files from the leaked documents of Gambashidze's company as part of the Fake News Factory project. They found that ASD systematically uses disinformation to discredit Ukraine, its leadership and citizens, as well as leaders of Western countries that support Ukraine, promoting the interests of Russia and European politicians who support them.
