Russia has been spreading false claims that Ukraine has been harvesting the organs of fallen soldiers and children as Moscow tries to build support for its invasion, according to a rare public warning from Canada’s foreign signals intelligence agency.
The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) also said it’s aware of Russian efforts to promote fake anti-Canadian stories.
Following on actions taken by British and American intelligence services, the CSE tweeted Friday its observations on intelligence gleaned from what it calls Russian-backed disinformation campaigns — a well-known tactic of President Vladimir Putin’s regime.
The agency said there’s been a co-ordinated effort by Russia to create and spread false reports that Ukraine has been harvesting the organs of fallen soldiers, women and children, and using mobile cremators to dispose of the evidence.
Russia also has “created and amplified fake stories and narratives falsely claiming that only military targets were being attacked, and that civilian causalities in Ukraine were lower than what confirmed, verifiable reports have shown,” said CSE.
“Equally, we’ve seen Russia’s efforts to promote stories that falsely categorize Russian protesters and citizens opposed to the invasion as supporting neo-Nazis and genocide.”
A CSE spokesperson said false stories aimed at the Canadian Armed Forces are circulating as well.
“Not surprisingly, we have seen dedicated efforts to promote fake, anti-Canadian stories, which are designed to look authentic, directed at members of the Canadian Armed Forces,” said Ryan Foreman.
He said that while CSE couldn’t speak to specifics, the agency was tracking anti-Canadian disinformation even before debunked rumours of a Canadian sniper being killed began to spread.
The former Canadian Armed Forces sniper, who goes by the nom de guerre Wali, came forward to disprove claims he had been killed after joining the defence of Ukraine.
Posts on a Russian social media site claimed the man had been killed by Russian Special Forces 20 minutes after he arrived in Mariupol, the southern port city that has been under siege by Russia.
“I’m alive, as you can see,” Wali told CBC last month. “Not a single scratch.”
‘Russia hasn’t changed its playbook’: expert
CSE — which usually informs the government of activities by foreign entities that threaten Canada or its allies — said it’s sharing some of its findings more widely now so that Canadians can guard against disinformation.
“Canada’s support to Ukraine is unwavering. The Russian invasion must stop and we will continue to work, as part of the Government of Canada’s efforts, to correct false narratives that undermine the facts,” said Foreman.
Ukrainian soldiers carry bodies of civilians killed by the Russian forces past the destroyed bridge in Irpin close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 31, 2022. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)
Former security analyst Stephanie Carvin, now an associate professor at Carleton University, said that despite Russia’s revered information operations capabilities, it has under-performed in the Ukraine campaign to date and is failing to pick up much traction in the West.
“I think they’ve been very poor, shockingly poor, actually,” she said.
“I think pre-bunking may have played a serious role in this. But also the fact is that it just seems like Russia hasn’t changed its playbook, whereas I think the West has.”
“Pre-bunking” refers to efforts by intelligence agencies to publicly call out disinformation campaigns or false-flag operations before they begin.
Still, Carvin warned that — as with its military operations — Russia is likely to adapt its information operations strategy.
“All of this could change down the road,” she said.
Warnings about cyberattacks
The electronic spy agency has issued multiple warnings to power companies, banks and other critical elements of Canada’s infrastructure and economy, urging them to shore up their defences against Russia-based cyber threat activity.
The agency said it has been sharing cyber threat intelligence with key partners in Ukraine and is working with the Canadian Armed Forces through intelligence sharing, cyber security and cyber operations.
Carvin said she hopes to see more transparency from Canada’s intelligence agencies.
“You can’t have an intelligence briefing like this every day, but I think a good, timely one is important to the Canadian public, and makes them aware that these campaigns exist, which may be important down the road — say, during an election,” she said.
“Just because these campaigns are out there doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re successful and everyone should lose their minds about it. It’s just [a reminder] to keep aware that these kinds of campaigns exist and that the national security community is watching.”
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia’s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
