Pistorius: Germany must become more resilient to Russian disinformation

Germany must become more resilient to Russian disinformation, said the country’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, during a visit to a military communication center in Mainz, according to Deutsche Welle.

“We must become resilient, both as a state and as a society,” Pistorius emphasized. The minister added that Russia’s disinformation campaigns need to be recognized at an early stage and publicly exposed.

Russia has repeatedly attempted to influence political decisions in Germany all in efforts to weaken support for Ukraine and sow distrust towards NATO, according to Pistorius. 

“Putin also wants, and this is a constant effort, to drive a wedge between us and our allies and to divide free Western societies,” Pistorius emphasized.

At the end of March, Czech counterintelligence uncovered a network of pro-Russian influence based in Prague. The network operated a news website with anti-European and anti-Ukrainian articles. The group aimed to act against Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence within the European Union territory.

Countering Russian disinformation was one of the main topics discussed by the discussion panels at the Ukrainian World Congress Summit in Bucharest. Methods of combating Russian propaganda and mechanisms to resist the “Russkiy Mir” were discussed in a session moderated by Pavlo Sadokha, UWC Vice President for Southern Europe.