text: MICROSOFT: RUSSIA TARGETING U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE: Microsoft researchers report that Russian cyber attacks are targeting U.S. infrastructure, in addition to targets in over 40 other countries. The United States is Russia’s top target and about 29% of attacks have been successful, according to a report released on Wednesday. (AC: Russian officials, including Sergei Lavrov, Dmitry Peskov, and Dmitry Medvedev have repeatedly said Ukraine is about pushing back on U.S. global hegemony. The U.S. remains very vulnerable to cyber attacks, which Russia could escalate in response to the U.S. running weapons into Ukraine. – M.S.) [source: https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2022/06/22/defending-ukraine-early-lessons-from-the-cyber-war/]INFORMATION/POLITICAL WARFAREDHS NAMES RUSSIA’S MIDTERM TARGETS: In an unreleased intelligence bulletin, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reportedly says Russian influence operations targeting the November midterm elections are underway. Portions of the nonpublic release sent to select media outlets said, “We assess that Russia will continue malign influence and interference activities designed to undermine U.S. global prestige, sow division among the American public, undermine faith in U.S. democratic institutions, and portray Russia as a global power… [Russia] will attempt to dissuade U.S. voters from participating in the 2022 midterm elections using similar tactics employed during the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, such as targeting audiences with false information about voting logistics, exacerbating racial tensions, and levying attacks or praise on candidates from either political party.” (AC: Russia’s influence operations methodology hasn’t changed much since the Soviet times, largely because they work. A major risk now to U.S. political advocates is amplifying these influence efforts unwittingly, only later to be shown pushing Russian narratives, which further undermines trust in the political process and institutions. Publicly available opinion data and campaign finance information provide Russia with great insight into our cultural hotspots for future exploitation. Foreign social media manipulation will likely complement domestic messaging operations on many sides of an issue or candidate. – D.M.)GEOSTRATEGIC INTSUMRUSSIANS HIT TWO GRAIN TERMINALS: Russian forces struck two Ukrainian grain terminals on Wednesday – one owned by a U.S. company and another by a Canadian company. (AC: Russia will continue striking strategic agricultural targets, including storage and shipping infrastructure. This betrays the Russian leadership’s insistence they want Ukraine’s global grain exports restored. Planned U.S.-backed aid projects could face severe disruption and fail to meet this year’s storage requirements. Russian strikes reducing capacity will have a rippling negative impact on food prices and availability in a number of nations in Europe, Africa, and the Indo-Pacific region. This slow-motion destabilization effort has less to do with “winning” in Ukraine and is designed to create a fresh set of global hot spots for the West to focus on abroad or at home. – D.M.)