The role of information and psychological operations in the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis

The article shows the importance and increasing role of the information and psychological warfare factor as the Ukrainian crisis escalates. The role of the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine in the informational and psychological confrontation is noted. The structure and functionality of the 16th, 72nd, 74th and 83rd centers of information and psychological operations of the Special operations Forces of Ukraine are considered. The main functions of these centers are shown, such as intelligence and subversive activities, identification of internal opponents, disinformation of the population, information terrorism, demoralization of citizens of Donbass, etc. The tools used by the centers of information and psychological operations in their activities are considered, in addition to the official media, several thousand Internet resources, information and news sites, coordinated groups of users of social networks and individual "platforms" in social networks are used. The role of the NATO Coordination Center for Responding to Computer Incidents (NCIRC — NATO Computer Incident Response Capability), the NATO Center of Excellence for Joint Cyber Defense (NATO CCD COE — NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence — Tallinn) and the cyber operations center in Mons (Belgium) is noted.