The article, authored by Adam Reichardt and published on 9 September 2024, provides a detailed examination of Russia's use of cognitive warfare—a blend of disinformation, psychological operations, and influence tactics—as a parallel front to its military war in Ukraine. It outlines how Russia seeks to erode public trust in Western institutions, sow division within NATO countries, and weaken Western political resolve through targeted propaganda campaigns, online manipulations, and other hybrid tools. The piece stresses that although Russia faces tactical defeats on the conventional battlefield, it continues to fight in the cognitive domain with sophisticated and sustained operations aiming at long-term destabilization of European democracies. It also discusses the challenges Western states face in effectively countering these campaigns, and the increased importance of alliance coordination and resilience-building. The article situates cognitive warfare as integral to Russia's overall hybrid warfare strategy, designed to complement and enable its military efforts by undermining Western unity and willpower.

The article, authored by Adam Reichardt and published on 9 September 2024, provides a detailed examination of Russia's use of cognitive warfare—a blend of disinformation, psychological operations, and influence tactics—as a parallel front to its military war in Ukraine. It outlines how Russia seeks to erode public trust in Western institutions, sow division within NATO countries, and weaken Western political resolve through targeted propaganda campaigns, online manipulations, and other hybrid tools. The piece stresses that although Russia faces tactical defeats on the conventional battlefield, it continues to fight in the cognitive domain with sophisticated and sustained operations aiming at long-term destabilization of European democracies. It also discusses the challenges Western states face in effectively countering these campaigns, and the increased importance of alliance coordination and resilience-building. The article situates cognitive warfare as integral to Russia's overall hybrid warfare strategy, designed to complement and enable its military efforts by undermining Western unity and willpower.