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Drones inside Poland. Drones blocking air traffic in Denmark. Russian fighter jets staying in the airspace of NATO countries for several minutes. Russian propaganda and disinformation. These are all examples of the hybrid war that Russia is waging. The purpose is obvious. It is to spread fear, see where the limits of NATO’s reaction are and influence public opinion. Putin hopes that the hybrid war will weaken NATO countries’ ability and willingness to support Ukraine with weapons.

Hybrid warfare what is it?

Hybrid war uses unconventional means. Examples include disinformation, cyber attacks, sabotage and terrorism. Hybrid warfare is often used to avoid revealing who is behind it. This is done to try to avoid a military response. It can also be used to avoid hiding who is behind it. In this case, hybrid warfare is often used to spread fear or test borders.

Russia constantly uses hybrid means in different contexts. When Crimea was annexed, there were Russian soldiers without badges that could identify them. Soldiers without badges are a form of hybrid means. Something of the same was the case in Donbas, where so-called Russian-backed separatists were assisted by regular Russian forces without visible badges.

Terrorism is also often a form of hybrid warfare. Bombs in airplanes are not easy to determine who is really behind, as is often the case with other types of terrorism.

Violation of airspace in Russia’s hybrid war

The violation of airspace in Poland by Russian military drones and the violation of Russian fighter jets in countries such as Estonia and Norway are obviously done to intimidate. Spreading fear in the population and among politicians is one of the purposes. Another purpose is to see where the line is drawn and how people react. On November 24, 2015, Turkey shot down a Russian plane that was in Turkish airspace. Turkey claims that there had been several violations of its airspace in the past. Remarkably, no further violations of Turkish airspace have been reported since the shooting down.

Denmark’s largest airport was closed for several hours a couple of days ago. The reason was that large drones were present at the airport, posing a danger to air traffic. According to Denmark, the drones were large and controlled by professionals. “These are drones that are not easy to identify the connection to right away. The purpose may be to spread fear among the population.

Russia’s hybrid war of disinformation and propaganda

Disinformation, propaganda and lies are common in the Russian hybrid war. Websites that look like serious newspapers and websites are in reality created to spread Russian disinformation and propaganda. This has especially been the case after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Comment sections in newspapers were for a while full of disinformation produced in the Russian troll factories.

The purpose of disinformation and propaganda is to influence international public opinion. Putin wants to ensure that public opinion in Western Europe no longer supports Ukraine in its struggle for freedom.

A paralyzed NATO

Until now, NATO has been almost paralyzed. The fear of the war spreading is great. That’s why the alliance is very cautious in its response to Russia.

Hardly anyone knows if and when the border will be crossed. That’s part of Russia’s purpose too. See how far they can go before there are consequences. Consequences are, for example, shooting down airplanes. Russia will probably increase its hybrid war until NATO says enough is enough. This point has been reached.

Sources:

Wikipedia: Russian hybrid warfare

BBC: Drone attacks leave Denmark exposed – and searching for response

CNN: Drones disrupt airports in what Danish officials call ‘hybrid attack.’ What happened and how can they be stopped?

NATO: Statement by the North Atlantic Council on recent airspace violations by Russia

BBC: Estonia seeks Nato consultation after Russian jets violate airspace