Russian forces are using the same tactics to destabilize and potentially seize further territory in southern and eastern Ukraine that they used to grab Crimea, according to the State Department. Simultaneous seizures of key buildings and infrastructure in Ukraine on April 12 “strongly suggest” Russian elements are working to “foment separatism, undermine Ukrainian sovereignty, and exercise control over its neighbor,” states an April 13 State Department release. “Today, Russia is speaking and behaving not as a partner, but as an adversary,” said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in a statement that same day. Last week, NATO released satellite photos showing Russian forces massed for invasion. “While tens of thousands of combat-ready Russian troops stand poised on Ukraine’s border, Russia is also waging a propaganda war the like of which we have not seen since the end of the Cold War,” said Rasmussen. He called Russia’s accusations that NATO was escalating tensions an attempt to “pervert the truth, divert attention from Russia’s illegal actions, and subvert the authorities in Ukraine.”
Watchdog Says Military Can Make Cyber Ops More Efficient
Sept. 17, 2025
The Government Accountability Office called for paring down the military's sprawling cyber enterprise in a recent report, amid renewed discussion about standing up a separate cyber force.
