False Mirrors: The Weaponization of Social Media in Russia’s Operation to Annex Crimea. Andrey Demartino

historical source. For example, groups and communities created or functioning under surveillance by Russian intelligence agencies, which had intentionally engaged in anti-Ukrainian activity, were “mopped up.” Therefore, scholars do not have access to the materials in question.

      Moreover, some part of research needs to be conducted at the time when events unfold, in particular, monitoring the mass media space to identify the technical aspects of waging information campaigns by Russian intelligence agencies, such as key messages, sources, publishing frequency, speakers, semantic relations, and links between groups/communities and accounts. In this case, the factor of time is crucial to making a correct and accurate assessment, since information is being destroyed, or it is becoming difficult to access under the layers of “junk information.” As to studies by Russian scholars, despite being actively involved in meticulous research work in the field of information security and cybersecurity, there is a conspiracy of silence about the “Crimean events”—propaganda or nothing.

      This research does not aim to cover all the aspects of Russian information warfare in the operation to annex the AR of Crimea in 2014. It attempts to reconstruct the facts and events related to the techniques of using social media for fulfilling aggressive foreign policy tasks by the leadership of the RF. The study investigates one of the tools of new-type warfare, which can lay a foundation for further comprehensive analysis. Performing systematic and structural-functional analysis makes it possible to study the mechanism and principles of the Russian information machine’s functioning in depth and suggest adequate countermeasures, which will contribute to strengthening the national security of Ukraine. This objective is especially relevant against the backdrop of the increasing influence of social media on every sphere of life and the ongoing aggressive policy of the Kremlin towards Ukraine, which requires continuous analysis and an appropriate response. The results of this research can also be used by the authorities in Ukraine and NATO member states and by international institutions for devising strategies, doctrines, instructions, and methods for countering Russian information expansion.