Putin's weapons

Putin uses every propaganda weapon at his disposal, not just bombs.

Truth is the first casualty of war. This is something that has been known throughout history. Everyone uses propaganda as a weapon and spares neither means nor expense to try to sway public opinion in their favour, especially at home, but also in opposing countries. Divide and rule was the tactic most commonly used by the Romans and has been modernised over the years as new technologies have progressed. We must be aware of the risk we face. Right now, television is still one of the main targets when it comes to planning a disinformation and fake news campaign, but add to this the social networks that have a massive and rapid reach, and are easier to manipulate. Bombs take lives, destroy buildings and intimidate wills.

If military force is combined with harassment through fake news that undermines the morale and morale of the opposing societies, we are faced with the perfect offensive. There is nothing new in the use made by the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his circle of power made up of the military high command and the so-called oligarchs, who are the ones who really control and manage the controls of Russian power, with a character like Putin who has been able to become the apex of a dictatorial regime that has been recovering after the fall of the Soviet Union. There is no need to mention the official Russian propaganda media because they are well known and their activity has been increasing since 2014 when the crisis in Ukraine broke out. Since then, there have been numerous examples of Russian interference in all the countries considered enemies at the time, with the application of economic and trade sanctions that have partly conditioned Putin's ambitions.

Cyber-attacks against institutions, organisations and companies of all kinds in the West, and these days in Ukraine, have caused serious damage to operations and loss of confidential information. In the end, Putin's choice against Ukraine has been total: that is, with conventional weapons by land, sea and air, by north, east and south; and with hybrid warfare aimed at technical and computer attrition, as well as demoralisation and the loss of the will to resist and fight to try to contain the invasion. Putin is using tactics already known for their effectiveness with the Nazis at the hand of a fanatical Goebbels, so the response must be total on our part. It is not just a matter of removing vodka from the bars, but also his propaganda media from the various communication platforms. Ukraine is presented as a first experiment of a regime that intends to subjugate by force all countries in its alleged Russian orbit.