Open AccessRussian military hybrid operations in Ukraine: Adapting strategy and tactics to the contemporary structure of war
Author(s) -
Igor Pejić
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
međunarodni problemi
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2406-0690
pISSN - 0025-8555
DOI - 10.2298/medjp1904423p
Subject(s) - military science , military theory , revolution in military affairs , ukrainian , operational level of war , geopolitics , military threat , mistake , political science , modern warfare , strategic goal , politics , software deployment , military strategy , military terminology , military sociology , law , engineering , military operations other than war , world war ii , spanish civil war , red army's tactics in world war ii , software engineering , philosophy , linguistics
With the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis, more than a decade old term of hybrid warfare was brought back to life. The frequent usage of the term "hybrid warfare" on a global scale inconsequentially produced an alteration of the term's true meaning. In an attempt to define a hybrid war various aspects of power are being added, sometimes by mistake, which can be employed in a military manner. This paper will explore the concept of hybrid warfare in Ukraine on the premises of Russian military operations and their method of employing military force in the next generation of warfare. The main research subject represents the study of operational and tactical components of the military-political happenings on Crimea and in the region of Donbas, as well as the study of the modern approach in the deployment and utilization of military forces in the next generation of warfare. The altered visage of modern warfare, affected by various socio-economic and technological changes, also demands certain adjustments to military strategy and tactics in terms of force employment and how these efforts correlate with geopolitical goals and the manner in which they are accomplished. In the paper, the author will use a variety of primary and secondary sources in order to set a comprehensive theoretical foundation that will help us with the ongoing analysis of the Ukrainian war and the role of Russian armed forces in it. The goal of this study is to grasp and explain the changed concept of military force as well as to call attention to the dynamic nature of military strategy, which is constantly adjusting itself to the volatile character of war. The main findings of this paper are focused on a partial displacement of the Klauzewitzian centre of gravity, from higher strategic levels towards lower operational and tactical levels of military organization, as well as the fact that the Russian armed forces have managed to successfully reinvent itself after numerous political and economic hardships that have ensued after the collapse of the Soviet Union.