Resilient Europe: Ukraine's Expertise in Countering Disinformation and Cultural Warfare Strengthens European Democratic Resilience

BRUSSELS, Dec. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- European and Ukrainian policymakers, security experts, researchers, and civil society leaders convened in Brussels for "Resilient Europe", a high-level forum co-organized by The Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA" on countering Russian propaganda and disinformation, hosted at the European Parliament. The forum focused on strengthening Europe's cognitive and information resilience, protecting democratic values, and safeguarding people's security amid escalating hybrid threats originating from the Russian Federation.

The event brought together representatives of EU institutions, national governments, analytical centers, cultural institutions, diaspora organizations, and the Ukrainian expert community to examine how lessons learned from Ukraine's frontline experience with hybrid warfare can be integrated into European policy frameworks.

The forum was organized with the participation of leading Ukrainian research and policy institutions, including the Institute of National Resilience and Security, European Economic and Social Committee, Mission of Ukraine to the EU, International Diplomatic Alliance NGO, Ukrainian Voices, Popular science publication AMBASSADOR, NGO "Democratic Initiatives of Youth," Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Research Institute of Ukrainian Studies of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, International Diplomatic Alliance NGO, and Association "Watch Ukrainian!". One of the forum's participants was the Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA," which for years has conducted applied research on disinformation, strategic communications, narrative warfare, and democratic resilience in Ukraine, Europe, and the transatlantic space.

Key Themes and Strategic Focus
Discussions at Resilient Europe focused on how Russian information operations adapt to European political, legal, and cultural environments. Among the key themes addressed were:

• strategic storytelling and narrative-building, including how European resilience can be shaped using Ukraine's lived experience of resisting hybrid warfare;
• the use of culture, art, and cultural heritage as tools of influence, through which Russia seeks to legitimize aggression and distort historical memory in Europe;
• instruments of Russian propaganda within the EU, including media manipulation, pseudo-civil society networks, and covert influence mechanisms targeting public opinion and decision-making.

These discussions were closely linked to Ukraine's long-term, institutional experience in countering disinformation under conditions of sustained hybrid aggression.

Ukraine's Long-Term Expertise in Countering Disinformation
For more than a decade, Ukraine has served as a frontline state in confronting Russian disinformation and hybrid influence operations. This experience has generated a deep pool of practical knowledge now increasingly relevant for European democracies.

Ukrainian analytical centers, research institutions, and civil society organizations have systematically documented and countered hostile narratives, influence networks, and manipulation tactics. Among them, the Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA" has played a prominent role through applied research, expert surveys, and policy analysis focused on:

• disinformation narratives targeting democratic institutions and elections;
• coordination between propaganda, lobbying, and cultural diplomacy;
• the role of non-state actors and proxy organizations in information warfare; and
• mechanisms for strengthening democratic resilience through strategic communication.

This collective Ukrainian expertise provided an important analytical backbone for the forum, enabling discussions to move beyond theory and toward evidence-based solutions tested in real-world conditions of hybrid war.

Participants emphasized that propaganda is not merely about misinformation or "brainwashing." It is a long-term strategy aimed at undermining political stability and institutional integrity in Western democracies. Russian information operations are designed to inflame internal divisions, radicalize oppositional sentiments, destabilize societies, stimulate subversive activities, and accelerate penetration into Western state institutions and media ecosystems. Understanding propaganda as a strategic instrument — rather than a communication problem — was identified as critical for effective democratic defense.

Panels, Speakers, and Key Interventions
The forum featured a series of thematic panels with senior officials and experts, including Mykola Tochytskyi, permanent representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe, Oleksandr Alfyorov, Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory; Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine; Oleksandr Poznii, Director of the research company Active Group; Volodymyr Buhrov, rector of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv; Kateryna Nastoyashcha, Head of the Geopolitics Department at the National Institute of Ukrainian Studies (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv); Olha Fabitska, President of the International Democratic Alliance; Pavlo Pushkar, President of the MIST France–Ukraine Association, Rena Marutian, head of the Institute of National Resilience and Security; Natalia Kryvda Professor at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv; Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, and Ivanna Khodos, head of the Refugee International Women Empowerment Foundation (Bulgaria), among others.

A central panel, "Ukrainian Public Diplomacy in Countering Russian Propaganda in the EU," highlighted the role of Ukrainian expertise in shaping Europe's information defenses. The panel was moderated by Olha Fediuk, Advocacy Director at Maple Hope Foundation.

Speaking during the discussion, Kateryna Odarchenko, Head of the Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA" and partner of SIC Group USA LLC, emphasized that effective counter-disinformation policy must go beyond media literacy alone. "Disinformation thrives where influence is opaque," she noted. "Europe must address not only propaganda, but also hidden and unregistered lobbying networks that distort democratic decision-making under the guise of civil society or cultural exchange." She added that Ukraine's experience demonstrates how information threats evolve into institutional risks if left unaddressed.

In another intervention, Violetta Dvornikova, Head of the European Association of Ukrainian Women, addressed how Russian propaganda systematically distorts the image of Ukrainian women in Europe. She explained that disinformation narratives portray Ukrainian women as a social burden or a source of instability, fueling discrimination, harassment, and stigmatization of those forced to flee the war. This fuels discrimination and abuse, while pseudo-Ukrainian organizations amplify these narratives online, undermining trust in genuine Ukrainian communities and weakening social cohesion.

Ivanna Khodos, Head of the Refugee International Women Empowerment Foundation (Bulgaria), highlighted how Russian disinformation operates in Southeast Europe, particularly in Bulgaria.

"In Bulgaria, Russian disinformation is not marginal — it is systemic," Khodos said. "Bulgaria is a member of both the EU and NATO, yet pro-Russian narratives are deeply embedded in media, political discourse, and public attitudes. Since 2022, more than 200,000 temporary protection statuses have been granted to Ukrainians, while only around 90,000–100,000 actually reside in the country. These figures are deliberately conflated to manufacture the image of 'excessive refugees' and to fuel social tension."

She emphasized that this represents a classic form of disinformation — not through outright lies, but through manipulation of facts taken out of context — amplified via social media, pseudo-news platforms, and politically legitimized actors, undermining trust in democratic institutions and European solidarity.

Dmytro Usov, Secretary of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, addressed persistent disinformation narratives claiming that Ukraine abandons its citizens. He underscored that Ukraine has never turned away from its people and highlighted the "I Want to Live" project as a multilingual tool countering Russian manipulation and exposing how disinformation is systematically weaponized.

Usov also pointed to a recent prisoner exchange involving Russian clergy and Ukrainian servicemen as a revealing example of how propaganda, ideology, and intelligence operations intersect. "The Russian priests included in the exchange were personally selected by Patriarch Kirill," Usov said. "It was the coordination of the candidates for the exchange with Patriarch Kirill that was publicly framed as receiving a 'blessing.' Russian security services followed his instructions, demonstrating how the church is instrumentalized as part of Russia's influence and propaganda machinery."

Iryna Kopanytsia, women's rights advocate and international communication specialist, who moderated the forum, delivered a powerful intervention highlighting how disinformation directly enables human rights violations. She underscored that Russia systematically abducts Ukrainian children while simultaneously conducting large-scale disinformation campaigns to obscure these crimes and manipulate international perception.

"Disinformation is not an abstract threat — it creates conditions in which crimes can be hidden, normalized, or denied," Kopanytsia said. "When Ukrainian children are taken from their families, information warfare becomes a tool to erase responsibility and delay justice."

"Children in the Russian Federation have become a central instrument of cognitive influence," she added. "Through forced displacement, re-education, and propaganda narratives, Russia uses children to reshape identity, memory, and loyalty. Countering this requires not only humanitarian response, but strategic information resistance."

Iryna Mirochnik, PhD, board member of Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, warned that Russian imperial narratives continue to circulate within Western academia despite Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.

"Even after Russia's occupation of Crimea in 2014 and its full-scale invasion in 2022, leading Western universities — including Oxford and Cambridge — continue to publish and disseminate materials that reproduce narratives aligned with Russian imperial propaganda," Mirochnik said. "Ukrainian writers and cultural figures are still misattributed to 'Russian culture,' Ukraine's independent history is minimized, and concepts such as 'Kyivan Rus' are incorrectly conflated with modern Russia."

She stressed that the global authority of these institutions gives such distortions disproportionate influence. "When these narratives remain uncorrected, they cease to be academic errors and become a powerful channel for the worldwide spread of imperial myths," Mirochnik noted. "Correcting them is essential not only for scholarly integrity, but for countering the international normalization of Russian imperialism."

She also emphasized the growing role of cultural production as a tool of influence. "Cinema and popular culture are increasingly used for soft lobbying," Miroshnyk noted. "High-profile films and artistic projects can subtly normalize authoritarian figures and reframe aggression through emotionally compelling storytelling, shaping perceptions far beyond the political sphere."

Anna Vyshniakova, Researcher and Head of the LingvaLexa initiative, presented research documenting evidence of propaganda embedded in children's computer games, as well as analysis of calls for war and aggression disseminated through music. Her study, "Music That Kills," demonstrated how cultural products are deliberately weaponized to normalize violence, militarism, and hostility toward democratic societies.

Cross-Sectoral Approach to Hybrid Threats
A defining feature of the conference was its cross-sectoral format, reflecting the reality that modern hybrid threats operate simultaneously across political, cultural, economic, and social domains. Participants included representatives of security institutions, academia, cultural and creative sectors, diaspora organizations, and business associations.

Key outcomes of the conference included:

• increased awareness among European stakeholders of how Russian propaganda adapts to EU institutional and legal environments;
• stronger recognition of culture and public diplomacy as front-line instruments of democratic defense;
• the establishment of new expert and institutional partnerships aimed at continued collaboration, joint research, and policy advocacy.

Why Resilient Europe Matters Now
As Europe faces heightened geopolitical uncertainty and intensified foreign interference, Resilient Europe underscored a clear conclusion: democratic resilience must be proactive, strategic, and built in partnership with those who have already faced the full spectrum of hybrid warfare.

"Ukraine's experience demonstrates that resilience is not an abstract concept — it is a set of skills, institutions, and decisions that can be shared," noted Iryna Kopanytsia. "Europe's security depends on how quickly these lessons are institutionalized."

By integrating research expertise, policy dialogue, and cultural diplomacy, the conference contributes to strengthening Europe's capacity to protect democratic institutions, social cohesion, and shared values.

About the Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA"
The Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA" is an international analytical and educational organization specializing in democratic governance, elections, strategic communications, and countering disinformation. The Institute works with policymakers, researchers, civil society organizations, and international partners across Europe, the United States, and emerging democracies. Its analytical reports and policy briefs on disinformation, democratic resilience, and foreign influence are publicly available and regularly used by decision-makers, researchers, and media.

SOURCE Institute for democracy and development PolitA