Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov is warning that Russia is planning to disconnect Ukraine’s communications channels and launch a psychological attack. In a Facebook post, he didn’t specify if this would entail mobile phone networks and/or internet connections. “According to available data, the Russian occupiers are preparing to launch a large-scale information and psychological operation in the near future,” he said. More available here.
Resnikov added that Moscow’s “goal is to break the resistance of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian army with the help of lies. Initially, they plan to disconnect communications.”
After communications channels are unplugged, “there will be a lot of fake reports that the Ukrainian military-political leadership has agreed to surrender,” the defense minister said. “Supposedly signed ‘documents,’ as well as edited fake videos will be distributed to ‘confirm’ the concocted situation.
Ukraine has been fending off a multi-pronged Russian invasion since Feb. 24 that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin termed a “special military operation.”
No major city has fallen but Russia is making advances and shelling civilian targets indiscriminately, according to multiple sources.
More than 14,000 people have been killed in Russia’s war against Ukraine since it started unprovoked in 2014. Last month, Moscow launched a fuller-scale invasion and Ukraine’s military said that 5,300 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded as of the fifth day of the onslaught.
Russia isn’t disclosing its casualty figures.
Presidential adviser Oleksii Arestovych also announced that the “hottest spot right now is Kherson. There are street battles between the local defense and the Russian military. The second point is northwest of Kyiv, where the Russians are trying to group up, and Ukrainian forces are inflicting powerful air strikes on them. Kharkiv also remains a hot spot.”
