What Is Hybrid Warfare? Russia’s Potential Response To Ukrainian Strike

Ukraine’s recent strike inside Russia using US-made missiles has raised fears of Russian retaliation through “hybrid warfare.” This strategy combines cyberattacks, sabotage, disinformation, and even physical violence to destabilise opponents, according to a report by The Guardian.

Hybrid warfare aims to cause disruption, interfere with military supplies, and put pressure on Ukraine’s allies by blurring traditional battle lines. Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, emphasised how Moscow is increasingly using these strategies to escalate tensions from Ukraine to Europe and beyond.

The news report further mentions that in the past, Russia has been connected to sabotage attempts, election-related disinformation campaigns, and hacking campaigns. Cyberattacks from Estonia and drone-related arrests in Norway close to vital infrastructure are examples of incidents. Global security is complicated by hybrid warfare.

“What is new about attacks seen in recent years is their speed, scale and intensity, facilitated by rapid technological change and global interconnectivity,” Nato said in June. “Counter-hybrid support teams” would provide assistance, but it was primarily up to individual countries to protect themselves.

Emerging Signs of Hybrid Warfare in the North and Baltic Seas

In April, Estonia and other Baltic states warned that widespread GPS jamming increased the threat of an aviation accident. The disturbance to location services was blamed on Russian “hybrid activity” in the region, Estonia said. 

The disruption led Finnish carrier Finnair to suspend flights to the Estonian city of Tartu, near the Russian border. The airline’s pilots had noticed an increase in interference since 2022, including the airspace close to Russia’s Kaliningrad region on the Baltic Sea.

Border trouble

Russia has also created alarm by starting disputes over borders in the Baltic Sea. Moscow published a resolution this year which showed it planned to unilaterally change its maritime frontiers with Finland and Lithuania from 2025.

Russian border guards in May removed buoys from the Narva River which showed the border with Estonia, officials in Tallinn said. The disappearance of the markers was part of a “broader pattern” by Moscow to use “tools related to the border to create fear and anxiety”, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said.

(With inputs from AFP)