Russia has created a new military force to conduct “information operations” against Russia's foes, the Interfax news agency reported Feb. 22.

“Propaganda should be smart, competent and effective,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, announcing the new force.



Shoigu did not say whether the “information operations forces” would be under the command of one of Russia's main military branches or whether they would operate independently.

In 2013, Interfax reported that the military was creating a cyber warfare command, though Russian officials since denied it.



The announcement this week came just hours after the Russian Foreign Ministry launched a “fake-news busting” website. Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the need for the website was obvious.



The Defense Ministry has become more active in the media sphere in the past 18 months. After Russia's surprise September 2015 intervention in the Syrian civil war, the Defense Ministry became active on Twitter and Facebook, publishing multi-lingual accounts of Russia's campaign in Syria.