Two days ago, Ukraine’s “Center for Countering Disinformation” issued a warning through its Telegram channel that people must not believe “U.S. Army Colonel, former Senator Richard Black [who] promotes the Kremlin narrative about Russia’s imminent victory.” The warning was issued the day before Colonel Black participated in the Schiller Institute’s conference titled “U.S. and European Military and Security Experts Warn: The Insanity of Politicians Threatens Nuclear War.” By the eve of the conference, the views of Colonel Black’s April 26 interview with the Schiller Institute, in which he detailed how the U.S. policy of using Ukraine for its proxy war against Russia is driving the world towards nuclear war, had crossed the half-million mark, and continues to rise. (https://schillerinstitute.com/blog/2022/04/26/video-col-richard-black-u-s-leading-world-to-nuclear-war/)
Was it the Ukrainians who decided that Black’s message was getting out too far and wide and had to be attacked? Or was it NATO, the U.K. and the U.S. governments who made the decision for them?
The Center for Countering Disinformation, which functions out of President Zelenskyy’s National Security and Defense Council, was set up from the outset as an “international hub” for information warfare.
The arrangement was officialized on April 6, 2021, in a meeting chaired by Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, with the heads of the EU and NATO missions in Ukraine, together with the ambassadors of the G7 countries, plus Finland and Israel. NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov and other top officials were also present. Yermak informed the foreign guests about the newly-created disinformation center, which, he emphasized, “should become an international hub for collecting and analyzing information to ensure Ukraine’s security.” The center’s appointed head, Polina Lysenko, requested Ukraine’s “international partners” provide their “experience” to the center, and participate in its operations. [https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/centr-protidiyi-dezinformaciyi-maye-stati-mizhnarodnim-habom-67821]
The attempt to counter Black’s message reads (in machine translation):
“The other day, several English-language media outlets published an interview with R. Black, in which the former U.S. senator said that Russia could not afford to lose the war with Ukraine, because, in his opinion, Russia’s defeat would mean that `NATO will move to the borders without hindrance. from Russia.’ Interestingly, the expert did not mention Finland and Sweden, which border Russia [sic], and it was because of the aggression of a neighbor that they decided to become members of the Alliance.
“In the last three months, in all his interviews, R. Black notes that he `breaks his heart when he sees a video where Ukrainian forces criminally kill Russian guys.’ [sic]
“We warn you! Such statements of the `expert’ are an element of the information and psychological operation of the enemy, which is trying to convince the West of the futility of helping Ukraine.”
So much for “countering” disinformation. What Colonel Black said in the Schiller interview was: “It just it breaks my heart, when I look at the faces of young Russian boys, who have been who have been gunned down—in some cases very criminally by Ukrainian forces. And likewise, I see Ukrainian young men, who are being slaughtered on the battlefield.”
