Ukraine ‘Psyched Out’ 17,000 Russians To Keep Them From Fighting

ANALYSIS – The pen is sometimes mightier than the sword. It has been two decades since U.S. forces contacted Iraqi military commanders prior to the Second Gulf War in 2003 to encourage them not to fight.

Some of the messaging was through covert back channels, some via old-fashioned leaflet drops. Either way, it was a highly successful information or psychological operation (psyop).

Many Iraqi commanders, along with all their troops, either surrendered, called in sick or just stayed home. Some were bribed, but the result was the same.

Fast forward to now, and Ukrainian forces, capitalizing on rapid advances in communications technology and the widespread use of social media, have been reaching out to Russian troops, urging them not to fight.

And it’s working.

Thousands of Russian troops have deserted, and a top U.S. general said Ukrainian information warfare had helped accomplish that.

Eroding the will and morale of individual enemy soldiers, as well as eroding the overall capability of the unit, is “a traditional military activity to impose doubt into the minds of the adversary,” noted Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, the commanding general of U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

And Ukraine has proven highly adept at information warfare.

Business Insider reported that Gen. Braga said Ukraine’s messaging efforts had been an important tool for convincing thousands of Russians to leave their posts:

“Messaging has played a huge role just in the tactical and operational sense” in Ukraine, Braga said at the Association of the US Army’s annual conference in October.

“We’ve supported our Ukrainian partners there. You’ve had 17,000 Russians desert,” Braga said. “That’s 17,000 soldiers you didn’t have to blow up on the battlefield or destroy. That has weakened the defensive mechanisms” of Russian forces, he added.

Using the avenues provided by social media, a military or intelligence service can gather detailed information about an adversary, its equipment, and its personnel and deploy that information to target individual troops and undermine their morale.”That’s a lot of Russians choosing not to fight or deserting their posts. And the Russian military often helps the Ukrainians with their own stupidity or barbarity.

There are numerous examples of poor Russian morale and the brutal Russian measures, such as executing soldiers who retreat or fail to follow orders, that Ukrainian operations have leveraged against them.

They have also mercilessly mocked Russia’s battlefield shortcomings. 

Rest assured, the Russians will continue to give the Ukrainians plenty of ammunition for their information operations. And the Ukrainians will continue to ‘psych out’ Russians not to fight.

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