FEATURES OF COMBATING ORGANIZED CRIME AS A TOOL USED BY THE SPECIAL SERVICES OF FOREIGN STATES DURING THE WAR IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The article highlights the features of the fight against organized crime as a tool used by foreign intelligence services in the context of the war in Ukraine. To achieve this goal, dialectical, statistical, systemstructural and formal-logical research methods were used. It is noted that in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the fight against organized crime has acquired a new meaning, since the special services of the Russian Federation are trying to use organized criminal groups to penetrate the political and economic structures of Ukraine. It is noted that to carry out subversive operations on the territory of Ukraine, Russian intelligence services are actively involving individual members of existing organized criminal groups, and are also seeking to create new criminal groups in order to carry out illegal activities within our state. It is emphasized that in order to effectively combat transnational and ethnic organized crime, the Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police of Ukraine has the right to proactively make decisions to ban entry into the territory of the state to persons belonging to the categories of “thief in law”, “criminal authority”, as well as persons controlled by and close to them. The article analyzes the main areas of activity of the Security Service of Ukraine in the fight against organized crime, which may pose a threat to national security in wartime. It is indicated that one of the forms of destabilization of the situation in Ukraine, especially in border and front-line zones, is the attempts of Russian special services to use organized criminal groups involved in the illegal trafficking of narcotics in order to weaken the country's defense capabilities. It was determined that in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, a special role is played by combating organized cybercrime, as well as ensuring the stable and secure operation of state bodies and critical infrastructure facilities in cyberspace. The importance of combating information and psychological operations of Russian special services aimed at spreading disinformation and attempts to incite internal conflicts both in Ukraine and in the context of relations with international partners was emphasized.