The most important challenges of today in countering Russian aggression are the fight against Russian disinformation and preventing Russia from circumventing the sanctions imposed against it. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an online conversation with the participants of the annual Swedish national conference "Society and Defense," which is one of the most important events in Northern Europe in the field of security and defense.
Answering a question from the moderator, the President noted that global information policy would be crucial in the near future.
"Today, unfortunately, Russia controls a large percentage of the information space. And I'm not talking about Ukraine here, but about social media everywhere in the civilized world: Europe, the United States, the UK, the African continent and Latin America. Russia invests a lot of money in various media in other countries, as well as in social networks," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
According to the President, the independent media of these countries pick up Russian narratives spread by propagandists and present them not as someone's opinion, but as reality. Therefore, the Head of State is convinced that one of the most difficult challenges today is to combat Russian disinformation in the world.
"It is up to professionals, from intelligence to independent journalists, to monitor it and clean it up," the President said.
The second key challenge of today, as pointed out by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is Russia's circumvention of the sanctions imposed against it.
"Russia has learned to circumvent sanctions. In the missiles that were used against us, we saw the details produced in many countries around the world. Unfortunately, manufacturers or intermediary companies in Europe, the US, and elsewhere are helping Russia to circumvent (sanctions – Ed.). And I would pay attention to this, in particular the attention of the authorities dealing with sanctions policy," the Head of State emphasized.
The annual national conference "Society and Defense," which will take place in Sälen on January 7-9, 2024, is considered the most prestigious in Sweden and is one of the most important public events in Northern Europe in the field of security and defense, widely covered by the Swedish and European media.
Keynote speakers at the conference include prime ministers, defense ministers, foreign ministers and other government representatives, supreme commanders, senior officials of civil society organizations, international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as renowned experts and opinion leaders.