Russia’s information expansion: Ukrainian foothold

The three‑year hybrid war between Russia and Ukraine that started in Febru‑ ary 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and is still going on in Donbas is not a second‑rate conflict on the periphery of Europe. This war poses a threat not only to Ukraine and its statehood, but also to the West, in particular, the unity of the EU, and Europe’s political structure. Europeans turned out to be critically vulnerable to both, internal problems and Kremlin’s “hybrid” power policy, the main component of which is powerful information expansion. Today, it is already not about just “fending off Western influence” in the post‑Soviet space — “zone of Kremlin’s privileged interests”, it is about a wide‑scale hybrid expansion on the EU territory with the goal of ultimate weakening/fragmenting (breaking apart) of the European Union, and reformatting the established European po‑ litical system according to Russia’s plan. All of this is happening against the background of total depreciation of global and regional security structures.

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Mykhailo Pashkov

Co-Director, Foreign Relations and International Security Programmes


Born in 1958 in Roslavl, Smolensk oblast, Russia

Education:

Smolensk Institute of Pedagogy, Faculty of the Russian Language and Literature (1979)

Moscow Institute of Youth, Faculty of Journalism (1986)

Kyiv Institute of Political Science and Public Administration (1991)

Ph. D. in Philosophy; the author of more than 50 publications

1979 – 1989 — worked at different positions in district, regional and republican newspapers in Russia and Moldova

1991 – 1994 — worked in scientific institutions of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

1994 – 1998 — Diplomatic Service at the Embassy of Ukraine in the Russian Federation

Since December 1999 — Razumkov Centre's Leading Expert

Diplomatic Rank: First Secretary. Most recent position in state structures — Chief Consultant, Analytical Service of Ukraine's NSDC Staff

(044) 206-85-08

pashkov@razumkov.org.ua