"Settlement of imaginary difficulties": what is known about the creation of national "cyber troops" in Ukraine

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to soon sign a decree on the creation of national cyber troops.

This was announced by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Alexei Danilov.

“This decision was supported by all 21 members (NSDC. 

- RT

) unanimously present at the meeting.

I think that in the near future there will be a presidential decree about this, ”he said on the air of the Ukraine TV channel.

According to Danilov, the approval of the cybersecurity strategy was also discussed at a closed meeting of the Council.

As the president's office clarified, as a result, the NSDC adopted a Cybersecurity Development Strategy "for the next five years."

“The quality and relevance of this document were top notch.

From the audit of the current situation, from understanding what we need to do so that our country becomes a leading country in the world in the direction of cyber defense - all this is noted in the Strategy, ”the presidential office quotes Vice Prime Minister and Head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov ...

Earlier, on May 13, Zelensky "got acquainted with the capabilities" of the UA30 Cybercenter, having attended its presentation.

According to the president, the creation of such a structure is "an example of the fact that Ukraine is changing not just in words."

“This is the first such center in Ukraine, and this is a great start.

We will continue, ”Zelensky said.

As the press service of the president's office notes, the facility was created on the basis of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine "in order to protect state information resources, critical infrastructure facilities and Ukrainian cyberspace in general."

The center will operate the Government Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine (CERT-UA).

• President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the presentation of the UA30 cyber center

• © Press service of the President of Ukraine

In addition, Zelensky said that a university will be created in Ukraine to train cybersecurity specialists.

“We will present it soon.

Ukraine should raise such specialists from the age of 15-16 so that they do not leave anywhere.

Offer them a job, and they will provide us with a safe life, ”the president said.

We will remind, in 2019 in Kiev it was already said that there are allegedly cyber troops in Ukraine, but "they have not been officially announced."

This was reported to the media by the then secretary of the National Security and Defense Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Ivan Vinnik.

According to him, the United States is providing these cyber forces with "broad expert, professional assistance."

US influence

According to analysts and sources of RT in political circles in Ukraine, Kiev's initiative to create cyber forces is "dictated by the influence of the United States," where the Cyber ​​Command (USCYBERCOM) already operates.

“In Ukraine, in all likelihood, at the behest of Washington, an infrastructure is being created for closer synchronization with the United States cyber command.

For this, the parties just need a legal justification, "said Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies, IMEMO RAN, in an interview with RT.

An RT source in the President's Office, for its part, said that Kiev hopes for Washington's help in creating cyber troops.

“The Ukrainian authorities need them, including to control what is happening on the Internet in conditions when Kiev is losing the information agenda.

After all, the population watches opposition channels, subscribes to Russian sources of information, which does not speak in favor of the Kiev authorities.

In addition, residents of both the east and west of Ukraine are calling on the Internet to secede from the republic.

Even Washington understands how dangerous it is, ”the politician says.

It is worth noting that almost simultaneously with the announcement of the creation of cyber forces in Ukraine, the Pentagon stated that the Russian special services allegedly "use the activities of cyber criminals, and then protect them from prosecution for crimes committed by them for personal gain."

These words of the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cybersecurity Mika Eoyan are quoted by the Pentagon press service.

“We also see how some states allow their hackers to engage in cybercrime in parallel.

For responsible states, such behavior is unacceptable, just as unacceptable on their part and to cover up such criminal acts, ”she said. 

Eoyan also noted that it is very important for the United States to understand who is responsible for malicious activities in cyberspace.

"The line between state and criminal actors is becoming less and less clear, as state structures use criminal actors as an instrument of state power, and then turn a blind eye to cybercrimes committed by the same attackers," she said.

We will remind, Washington has repeatedly accused Moscow of attacks on the infrastructure of the United States, but did not provide any evidence.

Russia categorically rejected such accusations, pointing out their groundlessness.

"Doubtful project"

Analysts also predict that after the creation of cyber troops in Ukraine, the American and Ukrainian military "will begin to cooperate more closely and" be friends against Russia. "

“Washington is developing its cyber troops, citing the 'Russian threat'.

All those horror stories about cyber attacks from the Russian Federation that are launched into the information space are invented by the Americans, who proceed from their own experience of using cyber forces against other countries.

Now Washington ascribes its own vices to Moscow and is pulling Kiev towards this, ”Olenchenko said.

From his point of view, the United States is interested in Ukraine "as a springboard for the fight against Russia, which they have designated as their enemy."

“American partners are gradually saturating Ukraine with all sorts of unnecessary obligations instead of helping the country to improve the welfare of the population, relations with neighbors, solving economic problems and housing and communal issues.

Kiev, however, undertakes only to resolve the perceived difficulties, ”Olenchenko said.

• Meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine

• © Press service of the President of Ukraine

He also stressed that the idea of ​​creating cyber forces in Ukraine is “difficult to implement”.

“No matter how pathetic the announcement of the creation of Ukrainian cyber troops sounds, this initiative requires wide, uninterrupted and constantly increasing funding, not to mention the fact that supporting the activities of such forces is an extremely energy-intensive process.

American foreign policy is structured in such a way that Washington forces its allies to act in their own interests at their own expense.

Therefore, Ukraine will have to redistribute money, withdrawing it primarily from the social sphere, ”Olenchenko explained.

The RT source in the Servant of the People party predicts, in turn, that Kiev will once again demonstrate its inability to successfully implement the initiatives put forward.

“The current Ukrainian authorities rarely manage to achieve at least some success in new endeavors.

The same will probably be the case with cyber troops, designed to become a powerful tool in the hands of the president's entourage, which can be used, among other things, to organize hacker attacks against Russia, ”the deputy said.

A similar point of view is shared by an RT source in the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers, who called the creation of cyber troops in the country "a useless undertaking."

“Ukrainian IT specialists of a very high level are in demand by Western companies, and they do not need to take part in such dubious projects as working in cyber troops,” he explained.

• President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky

• © Press service of the President of Ukraine

Nikita Danyuk, a member of the Public Chamber, first deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the RUDN University, summed up in an interview with RT that the cyber troops, the creation of which Kiev announced, is just "a sign behind which, in fact, there is nothing."

“How all this will work in practice and how effectively is a big question.

Ukraine, from the point of view of self-promotion, designed for the domestic audience, is ahead of the rest.

When it comes to solving real problems, we see that Kiev's enthusiasm ends here.

In this case, Zelensky, as a showman president, knows that the main thing is to create an information campaign, and what will happen next is not so important, ”Danyuk concluded.