Russia planned 2014 overthrow in Zaporizhia region, hacked document reveals

Russian President Putin and his advisors planned in
2014 to destabilize militarily the Zaporizhia region of Ukraine that borders
Donetsk, reported thetimes.co.uk news site on Apr. 2. The plan – outlined in a
code-protected document called Troy – called for preparing the residents of the
Zaporizhia region for a pro-Russian takeover as part of a wider Kremlin
engagement with strategies to destabilize Ukraine. The document was cracked by
Ukrainian hackers in November 2017, who obtained e-mails sent by Russian MP
Aleksei Muratov to officials close to Vladislav Surkov, Putin’s key adviser on
the Donbas conflict.

The plan – identifying pro-Russian agents and spies in
the region – employed all the elements of the Russian hybrid war on Ukraine,
including cyberattacks, spreading propaganda, bribes, paid demonstrations and
even the necessary “price” for overthrowing the Ukrainian government in the
region. It’s unclear whether the Russian government seriously considered the
plan, thetimes.co.uk reported.

Zenon Zawada: We are
quite confident that this information is correct, despite Kremlin denials,
because it was speculated at the time how Russia would gain physical access to
the illegally annexed Crimean territory. Since the Russians couldn’t stir a
revolt in the Zaporizhia region, they had to resort to building the Kerch
Strait bridge to connect Crimea with the Russian mainland.

Meanwhile, similar destabilization plans were
attempted in the Russophile cities of Kharkiv and Odesa, which failed.

We believe such regional destabilization attempts
won’t be necessary anymore. The Kremlin is on the path to get a sympathetic
parliamentary opposition in next year’s elections in Ukraine, representing the
Russophile southeastern regions. This large parliamentary presence will give
the Kremlin enormous influence in waging its hybrid war, particularly in the
mass media. If the Kremlin decides to respond militarily to tightening Western
sanctions, we believe it will be with an assault on a continental scale, not
regional military operations.