Hybrid war as an toolof foreign policy of the russian federation:the ukrainian dimension (1991 - 2023)

Abstract

The purpose of the research is the need to clarify the hybrid aggression periodization of the Russian Federation (RF) against Ukraine and to substantiate the scientific hypothesis that the start of its implementation was directly linked to the change in the state-political course of the newly proclaimed Ukrainian state in 1991. The scientific research is also aimed at studying the system of means concerning the hybrid influence of the Russian Federation on the state and political life of Ukraine, to develop general recommendations regarding the choice of directions for organized countermeasures to this kind of aggression. The Methodology of the Research. In order to achieve the set goal, a complex of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, modelling) and special (content analysis, historical genetic, historical legal, historical typological, historical systemic, retrospective) methods of cognition have been used. The Scientific Novelty. For the first time there have been presented the results of a comprehensive scientific study of the historical and political aspects of Russia’s conduct of a hybrid war against Ukraine. The prerequisites, which contributed to the hybrid war deployment have been analysed, the means and methods of its conduct have been elucidated, and recommendations have been formulated for the development of a system of collective resistance to this kind of aggression. It has been proven that the first “attacks” of Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine began after the declaration of Ukrainian independence. The Conclusion. The hybrid war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine began from the time of its declaration of independence and the creation of a sovereign state, intensified after the Revolution of Dignity, as a result of the mass expression of the will of the people of Ukraine regarding the choice of the geopolitical path of the development of their country, and turned into an open war in 2022. Taking into account the events related to the Russian invasion of 2022, it can be argued that, in addition to Ukraine, victims of the hybrid influence of the Russian Federation are also other states of the post-Soviet camp, in particular Belarus, from whose territory the Russian troops entered the territory of Ukraine in 2022, and there was missile shelling and drone attacks. Moldova is also a victim of the hybrid war of the Russian Federation, within which the political situation is currently actively shaking up with the aim of removing the current political leaders from power and replacing them with the pro-Russian ones, simultaneously with threats about the participation of the Russian troops in the event of an escalation of the conflict with the Transnistrian Moldavian Republic. Mass protests in Georgia, which recently have taken place due to the adoption of the law on foreign agents by the Georgian parliament, against the background of a gradual change in the country's political course towards the collapse of democracy and rapprochement with Russia, are also a direct sign of the Russian hybrid influence. Finally, the results of the vote of the UN General Assembly on February 23, 2023 regarding the resolution calling on Russia to stop the hostilities and withdraw its troops from Ukraine, and among the countries that abstained were Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajykystan, and Uzbekystan, show that the front of the hybrid war waged by the Russian Federation is extremely broad. The results of Russia's hybrid influence on the state life and politics of individual countries pose a threat to international security and destroy the world legal order.