Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) has reported on the participation of its acting head, Andriy Shapovalov, in the so-called “National Information Resilience Cluster” which met on July 13 for the first time in Ukraine. The meeting was “organized by the Civilian Research and Development Fund-Global (CRDF Global),” a U.S. State Department-linked organization which parades as a “non-governmental organization,” and it was held “with the support of” the State Department’s Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction.
CRDF Global already runs a regular “National Cyber Security Cluster” with multiple Ukrainian ministries and agencies. This new cluster overlaps many of the parties involved in that grouping, but this one appears to concentrate on upgrading Ukraine-U.S.-NATO propaganda warfare and measures against voices opposing their war.
Acting “in partnership” with the CRDF in the cluster are Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (the CCD is also an agency of the NSDC), its Foreign Ministry, and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy. The Deputy Minister of Defense joined the other deputy-level officials for the opening of the meeting.
NSDC Deputy Secretary Serhiy Demediuk sounded a note of concern. “Information security” is key, “because the lack of strategic communication allows the enemy to use well-known media in the United States and Europe, as well as in other allied countries. The spread of distrust in mass media enables the enemy not only to manipulate the information factor, but also to prepare for serious massive attacks—both in cyberspace and in the information sphere. We must be ready to respond in time and counter it.”
