Health and psychological consequences of hybrid wars in human societies:a qualitative study based on the Russian-Ukrainian war

In recent years, many countries around the world have faced a new type of war, where the both sides of the conflict use many strategies such as using of unconventional weapons, point-and-shoot and direct targeting, combined use of technologies and communication infrastructures, insider and the opposite party, disruption of essential services such as water, food, gas and health services and economic sanctions and lack of access of citizens to essential needs, displacement and planned migrations of the civilian population, cognitive warfare and conducting psychological operations and medias and the people’s capacity of the opposite side for their own benefit, cyber warfare, sexual violence, etc. are used, and these types of wars are called hybrid wars. The purpose of this study is to review the consequences of hybrid wars on the public health using the experiences after the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The present study is a narrative review that was conducted using the keywords Russian-Ukrainian war, combined war, mental health, food security in the Scopus and PubMed databases from January 2022 to the beginning of June 2023. In this study, only the papers that examined the health and psychological consequences of the war in Ukraine were selected, and other consequences of the war, such as military, political, and social aspects, were excluded.

One of the most consequence in hybrid wars is health system decline in the military and civilian people. The war between Russia and Ukraine, which started in 2022, is a best example of these wars which has impacted on health and medical infrastructure and the severe damage of civilian forces. In the meantime, examining the process of war and how it affects the health system can be very informative and effective in evaluating the level of preparations and formulation of defense strategies. The commanders and officials of health and medical organizations and institutions in different parts of the country and army should take comprehensive measures in revising the guidelines and executive regulations in the field of defense measures, providing infrastructure and preventive measures in order to increase the combat power and the amount Resilience of military and public forces against the destructive effects of combined war. Strategies, joint actions and increased cooperation are very necessary in order to reduce the harmful effects of combined wars and maintain public health. Also, drafting comprehensive laws and international commitments and intensifying punishments in this regard can prevent the development and spread of this type of threats on a global level and guarantee the health of the global community by preserving health achievements.