Conference Program

The main goal of this research project is to analyze US military support in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine to an international security. Consequently, the main research question and the hypothesis have been formulated: Q: What is the impact of US military support to Ukraine in the context of an international secuirty? H: The US military support does more harm than good to an international security. To accomplish those goals, the author’s work is based mainly on the micro-analysis of policymakers from the first circle of people in power, mostly the presidents’ advisers who have been particularly involved in implementing American foreign policy towards Russia and Ukraine since the end of the cold war, as well as Ukrainian officials and those participating in the US-led coalition. This will help the author to understand their motivations as well as their policies. Some argue, that the very real prospect of a US pullback from international engagement and support of allies potentially creates a major void in international leadership in defense of traditional security alliances, while others disagree. The author will examine this scientific problem.

One of the most pressing questions - can we hope today for international support of Ukraine by Latin American countries during the brutal russian aggression? Do they always vote in the UN General Assembly on the side of Ukraine when it comes to its territorial integrity, the cessation of hostilities on its territory, the provision of assistance to it in the supply of weapons, humanitarian aid, etc.? If we talk about such support to Ukraine, then we should keep in mind that after February 24, 2022 Latin American countries perceived and responded differently to the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory. Therefore, they can be divided into three groups: those who supported Ukraine, those who sided with russian federation, and those who retained their neutral status.Among the reasons for this attitude to the problems of Ukraine is the lack of a clear understanding among the political elites of the Latin American region of both, the very essence of russian aggression against Ukraine and its importance for the global security system, and the unwillingness to somehow harm, as they believe, friendly relations with the russian federation. For Ukraine, the loss of Crimea in 2014 was a serious

challenge in forming its own system of regional and general, global security.Ukraine will have to make extraordinary efforts to form and achieve its goal in the Latin America region. To do this, a clear and understandable policy should be developed that will take into account both the definition of information threats and ways to neutralize them.

Cognitive security is an important dimension of international and global security. The growing number of digital media, social networks and online resources utilized by people in the globalized world is related to the increased insecurities of spreading disinformation and harmful narratives. Disinformation is recognized as one of the most serious challenges to democracies nowadays due to its usage as a means of information influence campaigns, affecting public opinion, polarizing political debates and undermining trust in public institutions. Disinformation is also widely utilized as a method of hybrid and cognitive warfare. The importance of countering cognitive security challenges and combatting cognitive warfare through educating and collaborating in order to protect democratic values is recognized by the NATO countries, in particular.

Cognitive security is also a crucial dimension of the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine. Apart from kinetic, military intervention into Ukraine, the Russian Federation is actively employing cognitive warfare means in order to achieve its goals. Among those cognitive warfare means, one can mention spreading disinformation via various social networks and media outlets for internal and external audiences, identifying and exploiting domestic vulnerabilities to decrease trust in the government, polarizing public discussions in order to affect people’s ability to think critically and distinguish between facts and opinions. Ukraine is taking measures to efficiently ensure its cognitive security in the face of the aggression and there is a need of further studying and implementing the best practices of guaranteeing cognitive security under the ongoing attack on democracy.