The Russian hybrid warfare: the cases of Ukraine and Georgia

ABSTRACT

The term “Hybrid Warfare” has been defined and redefined in multiple diverse manners in the past two decades. Conventionally the concept of Hybrid Wars referred to a combination of regular and irregular forces to obtain synergy on the battlespace. However, following the Russian annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Eastern Ukraine, the Western community has revisited the definition of Hybrid Wars and reconceptualized it. Interestingly, this term is approached by Russia and the West in quite a different style, as per their own purpose, i.e Russia claims to be a victim of Hybrid Wards waged by the West. This research investigates the philosophy of the two mentioned versions of Hybrid Warfare and finds both irrelevant to comprehend Russia’s wars in the post-Soviet geography. Instead, it suggests to retreat to the original definition of hybrid warfare, in the context of Ukraine and Georgia cases and thereby argues that Russia performs hybrid warfare to restrict foreign policy maneuverabilities of the former Soviet republics.

KEYWORDS:

• Hybrid warfare
• Russia
• Donbas conflict
• South Ossetia conflict
• Abkhazia conflict

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. A former Soviet OMON police officer who was one of the organizers of the attempt to overthrow the Latvian government in 1991. Later served as the head of the Ministry of State Security between 1992 and 2012 in Transnistria, Moldova’s pro-Moscow de-facto state.

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Ibrahim Muradov

Dr. Ibrahim Muradov, did his P.hD. in International Relations at Middle East Technical University in Turkey. Currently, works as an Assoc. Prof. in the department of International Relations and Audit at Dnipro University of Technology / Dnipro / Ukraine. his main research field includes Eurasian Studies, Post-Soviet Conflict Studies, Hybrid Warfare, Ukraine Studies.