Information Supremacy, Strategic Intelligence, and Russian Aggression against Ukraine in 2022

Abstract

One of the key prerequisites in the process of preparing society and the state for future challenges is the development of the capabilities of the Intelligence Community (IC). The ability to collect necessary data and information about the intentions of an opponent, while simultaneously protecting one’s own information resources, is essential for making quality and timely decisions. Examples from modern conflicts and wars confirm the extreme importance of using intelligence during various forms of action (either offensive or defensive) because it helps to perceive actual situation on the battlefield more objectively and reliably, thus enabling decisionmaking that should have a positive effect on the development of the situation. Ukraine, with the help of its allies and friends from the international community, learned many lessons from the defeat it experienced on the battlefield during the Russian invasion in 2014. It used the time between the two aggressions to develop its own defense capabilities, including the development of its IC in all necessary segments: human potential, technical capabilities, organizational forms. This is reflected, among other things, in the successful stopping of the Russian blitzkrieg against Kyiv and the sinking of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva. At the same time, they also showed deficiencies in the coordination of the IC’s actions at the beginning of the Russian aggression, which, after wrong actions, were soon corrected.