Ukraine’s experience spurs allies’ interest in ‘resistance,’ info war training

October 12, 2022

Breaking Defense:

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US Special Operations Forces have seen increased interest from allies and partner nations in Europe and the Pacific in learning techniques for “resistance” and information war in the event of a foreign occupation of their land, said Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga. the Army’s SOF commander.

“I think one of the greatest lessons from the Ukraine wars is the power of information ops, influencing relevant populations in the world,” he told reporters on the margins of the annual Association of the United States Army show in Washington, D.C. “There hasn’t been a special operations international military that I have dealt with since the Ukraine crisis that has not talked to us about expanding information operations and psychological operations forces.”

Braga explained that there has been an uptick in requests for training and assistance in crafting what special operators call a “resistance operations concept” — i.e., a plan for how to fight from the inside after an invasion — in particular from allies and partners in the European and Indo-Pacific theaters. This can include material assistance, but also training on skills like using the internet and the media to gather international support. On the latter, he noted, Ukraine has been nothing short of masterful.

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