Ukrainian Resistance to Russian Disinformation: Lessons for Future Conflict

Helmus and Holynska's 96-page analysis of Ukrainian counter-disinformation strategy since 2022 is one of the most comprehensive English-language assessments of what Ukraine has actually done — rather than what observers have assumed — in the information domain during the full-scale Russian invasion. The report covers three distinct theatres: the domestic information environment (maintaining Ukrainian public resilience and morale), the Russian information environment (challenging Russian narratives within Russia and Russian-speaking populations), and the international information environment (sustaining Western support).

The three-theatre framework is analytically important: Ukraine has pursued different strategies, used different tools, and achieved different levels of success in each theatre. The domestic resilience story is the most successful; the international communications effort has been extraordinary; the Russian-audience operation is the most difficult and least successful. For practitioners thinking about information strategy in conflict or crisis contexts, this report provides the most detailed available account of what a functioning, well-resourced counter-disinformation operation looks like under genuine wartime conditions.