Slaidiņš: Russia Spends Hundreds of Millions of Dollars on Hybrid War Against Europe and Ukraine
Latvian National Guard staff officer Major Jānis Slaidiņš named four directions of Russian hybrid activity on TV24 and cited its propaganda spending. He mentioned about 500 million dollars in 2023 and over 100 million dollars annually from Defence Ministry budgets.
Russia's hybrid war against Europe goes beyond military threats and also includes cyberattacks, sabotage, disinformation and surveillance of critical infrastructure. This was explained on the TV24 programme “Aktuālais par karadarbību Ukrainā” (“The Latest on Hostilities in Ukraine”) by Major Jānis Slaidiņš of the Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS), a staff officer of the National Guard (Zemessardze). He described the directions in which Russia operates and how much money it devotes to propaganda.
Four directions of activity
Slaidiņš referred to assessments by the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of Ukraine's Ministry of Defence. According to them, Russia's hybrid activities focus on four main directions:
- critical infrastructure, communication systems and cyberspace;
- sabotage, disinformation and incitement;
- surveillance of military sites;
- gathering of intelligence and data, including on NATO bases and defence infrastructure.
According to Slaidiņš, the last of these can serve as a basis for further sabotage operations. He said on the programme that in each direction one can find something that has already happened.
Funds for propaganda
Slaidiņš also drew attention to the funds Russia allocates to spreading propaganda. He said that in 2023 Russia invested 58 billion rubles, or about 500 million US dollars, in creating formally independent organisations linked to promoting propaganda content.
He also said that the closed budgets of Russia's Ministry of Defence provide more than 100 million US dollars every year for producing fake news and propaganda aimed at the European Union and Ukraine.
The major stressed that information attacks play a significant role in Russia's actions. Propaganda and disinformation are among the weapons the state uses to influence society and weaken its opponents. “It is a weapon, it is an effective weapon,” Slaidiņš concluded.
