Defamation as a Tool for Destroying Statehood: Russian Practices of Hybrid War against Ukraine

The materials of the article reflect the main provisions of the author՚s report at the International Conference on April 11, 2025 and devoted to the analysis of the role of defamation as a key tool of hybrid warfare in the context of 21st-century world-system transformations. The author emphasizes that in conditions of active military conflict, the role of nation-states increases while the role of international organizations, such as the UN, decreases. Particular attention is paid to the Russian discrediting policy towards Ukraine, in particular its practices of the early 1990s, when the thesis of “Ukrainian fascism” developed by Russia led to a distortion of the world community’s perception of Ukraine, the spread of distrust and increased political pressure on our state to abandon nuclear weapons. The author emphasizes that a systematic analysis of the media space and Russian political activity is crucial to understanding the Kremlin's true goals and developing an effective countermeasure to its informational and psychological influence, not only in Ukraine but also in other regions of the world.