Russia’s war against the democratic world is not limited to missiles, drones, or tanks. Long before a shot is fired, Moscow deploys a broad arsenal of tools designed to weaken states from within — to distort reality, fracture societies, disable systems, and corrode the foundations of trust. This is the essence of hybrid warfare: a constant, adaptive campaign waged in the shadows, where the front line runs through institutions, networks, and the human mind.
Today, Russia combines its traditional intelligence apparatus with artificial intelligence, digital platforms, covert operatives, criminal networks, extremist groups, and local proxies. The goal is simple: undermine democracies until they cannot resist.
Information War
Distorting reality. Polarizing societies. Corrupting minds.
Before any physical attack, Russia attacks the truth.
Through propaganda, disinformation networks, conspiracy ecosystems, and state-controlled media, the Kremlin manufactures parallel realities. These narratives aim to divide societies, erode trust in democratic institutions, delegitimize elections, and weaken international solidarity with Ukraine.
Information war is not simply noise — it is cognitive manipulation designed to make democratic societies doubt themselves, their allies, and their own future.
Cyber War
Paralyzing systems. Disrupting lives. Striking without warning.
Russian cyber units and affiliated hacker groups target critical infrastructure, government databases, energy grids, hospitals, banks, and media outlets. Their attacks range from ransomware blackmail to massive denial-of-service operations.
Cyber war is fast, inexpensive, and deniable — and it can create chaos without Moscow ever firing a missile.
For societies dependent on digital services, cyber operations are modern weapons of mass disruption.
Sabotage
Destroying infrastructure. Spreading fear. Weakening resilience.
Sabotage operations — often carried out through covert agents, criminal intermediaries, or local collaborators — are expanding across Europe.
Explosions in warehouses, railway disruptions, arson attacks, drone incursions, communication outages: these events are rarely isolated incidents. They are part of a larger playbook designed to intimidate, destabilize, and test the reaction of Western governments.
Sabotage turns everyday spaces into potential battlegrounds.
Electronic Warfare
Jamming signals. Blinding defenses. Endangering skies.
Russia’s sophisticated EW systems disrupt GPS, communications, drones, and air-defense sensors.
By blinding radar, interfering with satellites, or cutting off navigation signals, Moscow challenges NATO’s situational awareness and endangers civilian and military aviation.
Electronic warfare is increasingly central to modern conflict — a domain where control over the electromagnetic spectrum can determine the outcome of an entire operation.
Espionage
Infiltrating networks. Stealing secrets. Blackmailing leaders.
Despite mass expulsions of Russian diplomats and intelligence officers since 2022, Moscow continues to rebuild its espionage networks across Europe.
These networks blend traditional spies with cyber-intelligence operations, illegal agents, front organizations, religious and cultural structures, far-right movements, and business proxies. Their mission: acquire sensitive information, influence political decisions, and identify weaknesses in institutions and individuals.
Espionage is the backbone of hybrid warfare — the element that connects information, sabotage, cyber operations, and disinformation into a coordinated strategy.
Hybrid War: The Invisible Battlefield of Our Time
Russia’s hybrid war does not wait for elections, crises, or moments of weakness — it creates them.
It targets states that are fragmented, distracted, or divided. And it thrives where democratic institutions hesitate, where accountability is absent, and where societies underestimate the threat.
Understanding this arsenal is the first step.
Building resilience — strategically, institutionally, and cognitively — is the next.
The battlefield is already everywhere: in our media, our networks, our politics, our cities, and our minds.
And the outcome depends on the ability of democracies to see the threat clearly, act collectively, and defend the truth with unwavering resolve.
Prepared by CIVIL’s Hybrid Threats Monitoring Team, with assistance from OpenAI–ChatGPT