Cognitive Warfare Is Becoming a Key Dimension of Contemporary Conflicts: Experts Discussed New Approaches to Strengthening Ukraine’s Resilience

On 30 June, an expert panel discussion entitled “Cognitive Warfare as a New Domain of Contemporary Global Conflicts” took place in Kyiv. The event was organised by the SAFE UKRAINE 2030 Foundation in cooperation with the National Institute for Strategic Studies. The discussion brought together representatives of public authorities, the security and defence sector, academia, civil society and the expert community to examine the contemporary nature of cognitive warfare, the development of artificial intelligence, the transformation of information threats, and ways to strengthen Ukraine’s cognitive resilience.

Opening the discussion, Olena Sukmanova, President of the SAFE UKRAINE 2030 Foundation, emphasised that

"cognitive warfare is not merely about countering disinformation or manipulation. It is a struggle for society’s ability to think critically, preserve trust, make decisions under conditions of uncertainty and maintain internal unity. According to her, this is why Ukraine now needs to move from threat analysis to practical solutions: institutional models, technological tools and new formats of cooperation between the state, business, civil society and international partners. Within the TRUSTA Strategic Action Framework, cognitive security is viewed as part of Ukraine’s democratic resilience - and as one of the areas where Ukraine’s experience can become an important contribution to the new architecture of European security."

Cognitive Warfare Is Changing the Very Understanding of War

The keynote address was delivered by Oleksandr Bogomolov, Director at the National Institute for Strategic Studies, Doctor of Philology and expert in cognitive linguistics.

He noted that the emergence of the concept of cognitive warfare does not signify the appearance of an entirely new type of conflict, but rather a transformation in how conflict itself is understood.

“The emergence of cognitive warfare is not simply the addition of another domain to the traditional dimensions of war. It changes the very understanding of the nature of war. Today, war can be seen as a communicative phenomenon, in which the struggle is waged not only for territory, but also for the way reality is perceived.”

According to Oleksandr Bogomolov, the primary objective of modern cognitive operations is not disinformation as such, but the construction of a worldview that leads societies to adopt political and strategic decisions favourable to the adversary.

“Russia’s strategy is not only to convince us of certain statements. Its objective is to make us look at the world through Moscow’s eyes. It is precisely this shift of perspective that becomes the key weapon of cognitive warfare.”

He also stressed that traditional responses to information operations - debunking falsehoods, blocking information resources or applying sanctions mechanisms - remain necessary, but are no longer sufficient. Ukraine and its partners must learn to view information campaigns as part of complex military operations that combine informational, diplomatic, military and political dimensions.

Cognitive Resilience Is the Ability of Society to Make Rational Decisions

During the panel discussion, Rena Marutian, Director of the Institute for National Resilience and Security, Doctor of Public Administration and Professor at the Department of Global and National Security of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Public Administration and Civil Service at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, emphasised that cognitive resilience goes far beyond media literacy.

“Cognitive resilience is the ability to make rational decisions under conditions of uncertainty, to trust one another and the state, to resist fear and panic, and to preserve critical thinking even during prolonged crises.”

She underlined that contemporary international approaches view resilience as a combination of three components: the capacity to resist, to adapt and to recover rapidly after crisis impacts.

Rena Marutian paid particular attention to the issue of institutional trust.

“Ukrainian society demonstrates a high level of horizontal interaction, while at the same time facing a serious deficit of vertical trust in state institutions. This is becoming one of the key challenges for strengthening cognitive resilience.”

The War Is Being Waged Over the Interpretation of Reality

Andrii Zablodskyi, Adviser to the Chair of the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine on Strategic Communications and Head of the European Ontological Foundation, offered a broader perspective on the nature of modern warfare.

“War is being waged over the principles by which reality is interpreted. If the struggle is about how people explain the events around them, then the entire space of modern war becomes cognitive.”

At the same time, he cautioned against simplified technological solutions and excessive expectations of the state.

According to him, building cognitive resilience is a long-term societal process that cannot be ensured solely through administrative mechanisms or information campaigns.

Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming the Nature of Cognitive Confrontation

Kyrylo Demchenko, an officer in Ukraine’s defence sector, drew attention to the rapid spread of artificial intelligence systems and their impact on decision-making.

According to him, modern generative models are already shaping the way users think, accelerating information processing, while at the same time creating new risks of informational dependency.

“The question is no longer only about the development of artificial intelligence, but also about who controls these technologies and whether the state will have its own sovereign digital capacities to ensure its security.”

He stressed that cognitive security will increasingly depend on the development of national technological platforms, data-processing capabilities and the digital sovereignty of the state.

Building Resilience Requires Shared Responsibility

Strategic communications expert Oleksii Kharchenko proposed looking at cognitive resilience through the lens of responsibility across different societal sectors.

“The question is no longer only what needs to be done. The question is who exactly should do it. For the state, business, civil society and the expert community, these tasks are different. But results are possible only if each actor demonstrates initiative, assumes responsibility at the appropriate level and acts in coordination - with the state playing its proper role.”

In his view, the development of cognitive resilience must be grounded in democratic mechanisms, shared values and effective interaction between society and the state.

Conclusions of the Discussion

Participants reached a shared conclusion that cognitive warfare has already become an integral component of contemporary international conflicts. At the same time, thanks to its own experience of resisting Russian aggression, Ukraine has a unique opportunity to become one of the global leaders in shaping new approaches to ensuring cognitive and information resilience.

Following the discussion, expert work will continue on recommendations for the development of state policy in the field of cognitive security, the strengthening of strategic communications, the advancement of digital sovereignty, and deeper cooperation between the state, academia, business and civil society.