Roundtable to Discuss Russian Involvement in Ukraine's Elections
A RUSI roundtable in January 2019 discussed Russia's involvement in elections in Ukraine, in light of the country's upcoming election. Tools for involvement have included political destabilisation, media manipulation, and economic interconnection. Participants discussed Ukraine's resistance to influence and the need for further study.
This report represents a summary of informal roundtable discussions held at RUSI on 17 January 2019. The conversation was led by Oleksandr Danylyuk from the Center for Defence Reform in Kiev, who outlined his perceptions and concerns about Russian involvement in Ukraine’s elections, noting the national elections due to be held in March 2019. While the conversation ranged widely, there were four main areas considered which will frame this report. First, there was discussion of the political context in Ukraine, followed by an analysis of the main elements of Russia’s toolkit. This was followed by consideration of both the vulnerabilities and resistance of Ukrainian society to information manipulation before considering ways in which Ukraine and friendly states could mitigate the threat.
WRITTEN BY
Ewan Lawson
Associate Fellow
