DISINFO: Russian hybrid warfare does not exist, it is a concept created by NATO and by the West
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Hybrid war West NATO Crimea Encircling Russia

DISINFO: Russian hybrid warfare does not exist, it is a concept created by NATO and by the West

SUMMARY

Russian hybrid warfare does not exist, it is a concept created by NATO and by the West to scare their fellow citizens, to shift attention away from numerous internal problems of the West and to label every Russian activity. 

RESPONSE

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about NATO and the West.

This narrative fits into the broader disinformation theme about the West’s allegedly belligerent and hostile agenda against Russia, and about its alleged plans to destabilise and encircle Russia.

The tactics used by the Kremlin in Ukraine are a clear example of ‘hybrid warfare’ tools. Except for using the most recent technology, Russian hybrid warfare shows considerable continuity with both the goals and tactics that the Soviet intelligence services used during the Cold War and that Russia deployed in military interventions from 1991 onwards in Moldova and Georgia.

Russia has used conventional military means against Ukraine, but it has added a few twists to further frustrate and exhaust its victim. Russian troops, who even during the most sweeping phases of military operations against Ukraine in 2014-2015 were dressed in Russian military green uniforms without insignia and chevrons, were labelled “green men.” But there was no official declaration of war or even an admission by the Russian government that it had sent soldiers to Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that his country’s troops had occupied Crimea only after the special operation was over.

Russia has also deployed hybrid Russian forces around the world for different operations. Russian hackers have set new standards in cyber warfare, targeting everything from political parties to essential infrastructure. Furthermore, Moscow has given support to political extremists and separatist movements throughout the EU and beyond, aided and assisted by a vast Kremlin-backed disinformation machine.

Read here for the evolution of Russian Hybrid Warfare in Ukraine.

Read similar cases claiming that accusations about Russian-sponsored hacker attacks aim to discredit Sputnik V, that Brussels uses Russophobia as a uniting idea to prevent the EU's collapse, that Russia is not and will never be implicated in cybercrimes, or that Russian secret services have never been involved in cyber-attacks.

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Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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