Russian Hybrid Warfare in the 2022 Ukraine Conflict

The "Hybrid War" strategy that Russia adopted against Ukraine following the Crimean crisis in 2014, reached its pinnacle in the more recent (2022) war. Moscow has used various hybrid tactics during its military operations against Kyiv. Therefore, the main question that current research seeks to answer is: what hybrid war tactics Russia has employed against Kyiv, and how these tactics have affected the 2022 war in Ukraine? A conceptual framework based on the Hybrid Warfare and its critical components have been adopted to scrutinize the very impacts of the Russian Hybrid Warfare strategy on the ongoing war. The findings of the research demonstrate that Russia has used 3 major tactics in the recent war, including media warfare, cyber attacks, and targeted attacks on key areas and infrastructures of Ukraine. These Hybrid Operations have caused disruption and confusion to Ukraine's defense operations and financial-logistical allocations. As a result, Ukraine's defense, and financial capabilities to deal with Russia's hybrid threats have been severely depleted. The findings of the paper can contribute in strengthening the Persian literature on the Hybrid War, in general, and Russian hybrid warfare tactics, in particular.