Academic article analyzes and defines the concept of 'hybrid warfare' based on Russia's aggression against Ukraine, highlighting its information-psychological basis and multifaceted components.

Cyber & Information WarfarePsychological WarfareNarratives to erode public trust

Unclassified

Summary

This 2018 academic article by Oleg Manko and Yurii Mikhieiev published in Information & Security: An International Journal reviews various definitions and scholarly views on the concept of 'hybrid warfare,' contextualized by the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The authors find that hybrid warfare involves a complex blend of conventional military, irregular tactics, information-psychological operations targeting public consciousness, and asymmetrical strategies. They stress that this warfare's ambiguous and multilayered nature complicates detection and response. The article reviews authoritative definitions by Frank Hoffman, David Kilcullen, and others, and cites NATO’s 2009 Allied Command Transformation report which anticipates hybrid threats involving regular and irregular forces, terrorists, and criminals cooperating in mixed modes. The authors emphasize that hybrid warfare is not a new type of war but a coherent, dynamic combination of military and non-military means aimed at political and strategic objectives, often involving proxy irregular forces that can perform actions a state cannot officially endorse. The information-psychological element is a core component, focusing on shaping public perception rather than just kinetic military targets. Ukrainian experience in Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea is used as a basis to illustrate hybrid warfare's modern application. The article also highlights the role of special operations forces and notes the US DoD preference to use 'full-spectrum operations' instead of 'hybrid warfare.' The scholars conclude that hybrid warfare represents a new dimension of conflict integrating state and non-state actors with a predominant information and psychological warfare aspect.

Classification

Confidence: High

The article explicitly analyzes and defines the hybrid warfare concept with detailed reference to Russian aggression against Ukraine and military-theoretical sources, but it does not describe a discrete incident with time/location details. It is an academic research paper focused on theory and conceptual framework.

Source URL

https://procon.bg/system/files/4107_mikhieiev_manko.pdf

Open source

Provenance

Publisher: extension
Submitted: Feb 14, 2026, 12:22 UTC
Last updated: Nov 4, 2026, 08:36 UTC
Event time: Jan 1, 2018, 00:00 UTC

Published as a hybrid-warfare signal with a public source and reviewer-approved assessment bands. See the methodology for how records are assessed.

Raw record

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  "id": "17f6fd1f-2ded-45d0-b551-89bc7549c565",
  "url": "https://procon.bg/system/files/4107_mikhieiev_manko.pdf",
  "source": "extension",
  "status": "approved",
  "category": "Cyber & Information Warfare",
  "subcategory": "Psychological Warfare",
  "incident_type": "Narratives to erode public trust",
  "country": "Unknown",
  "source_reliability": "A",
  "info_credibility": "3",
  "tags": [
    "hybrid warfare",
    "Russia",
    "Ukraine",
    "information operations",
    "asymmetric warfare",
    "proxy forces",
    "NATO",
    "special operations",
    "psychological operations",
    "military theories"
  ],
  "nodes": [],
  "countries": [],
  "where_text": "Unknown",
  "headline": null,
  "description": "This 2018 academic article by Oleg Manko and Yurii Mikhieiev published in Information & Security: An International Journal reviews various definitions and scholarly views on the concept of 'hybrid warfare,' contextualized by the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The authors find that hybrid warfare involves a complex blend of conventional military, irregular tactics, information-psychological operations targeting public consciousness, and asymmetrical strategies. They stress that this warfare's ambiguous and multilayered nature complicates detection and response. The article reviews authoritative definitions by Frank Hoffman, David Kilcullen, and others, and cites NATO’s 2009 Allied Command Transformation report which anticipates hybrid threats involving regular and irregular forces, terrorists, and criminals cooperating in mixed modes. The authors emphasize that hybrid warfare is not a new type of war but a coherent, dynamic combination of military and non-military means aimed at political and strategic objectives, often involving proxy irregular forces that can perform actions a state cannot officially endorse. The information-psychological element is a core component, focusing on shaping public perception rather than just kinetic military targets. Ukrainian experience in Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea is used as a basis to illustrate hybrid warfare's modern application. The article also highlights the role of special operations forces and notes the US DoD preference to use 'full-spectrum operations' instead of 'hybrid warfare.' The scholars conclude that hybrid warfare represents a new dimension of conflict integrating state and non-state actors with a predominant information and psychological warfare aspect.",
  "summary_short": "Academic article analyzes and defines the concept of 'hybrid warfare' based on Russia's aggression against Ukraine, highlighting its information-psychological basis and multifaceted components.",
  "summary_extended": null,
  "actor_primary": null,
  "target_primary": null,
  "location_text": null,
  "location_region": null,
  "location_coordinates_lat": null,
  "location_coordinates_lon": null,
  "location_precision": "Unknown",
  "is_aggressor_signal": false,
  "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL",
  "is_hybrid_war_signal": false,
  "classification_complete": true,
  "hybrid_signal_complete": true,
  "classification_confidence": "High",
  "classification_rationale": "The article explicitly analyzes and defines the hybrid warfare concept with detailed reference to Russian aggression against Ukraine and military-theoretical sources, but it does not describe a discrete incident with time/location details. It is an academic research paper focused on theory and conceptual framework.",
  "event_time_utc": "2018-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "end_time_utc": null,
  "event_time_confidence": "exact",
  "created_at": "2026-02-14T12:22:48.981Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-04T08:36:06.995Z",
  "reliability_band": "strong",
  "location_precision_band": "unknown",
  "time_precision_band": "exact",
  "severity_band": "minimal",
  "attribution_basis": "single_source"
}

Public assessmentReliability: StrongSeverity: MinimalSingle sourceTime: ExactLocation: Unknown

Source reliability

Info credibility

Event time

Jan 1, 2018, 00:00 UTC

Event time confidence

exact

Location

Unknown

Country

Unknown

Tags

hybrid warfare, Russia, Ukraine, information operations, asymmetric warfare, proxy forces, NATO, special operations, psychological operations, military theories

Loading signal...

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