Russian Influence Operations and the War in Ukraine

This book provides a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the full spectrum of Russian influence operations targeting international actors and various segments of society following the onset of the war in Ukraine. It explores Russia's revisionist foreign policy, which has long aimed to challenge the post-Cold War international order through a combination of information operations and military power. Russia's extensive military campaign in Ukraine is framed not merely as an assault on the Ukrainian nation but as a broader confrontation with Western countries, as orchestrated by the Kremlin. The book examines the deliberate escalation of tensions since the Euromaidan protests in Kyiv (2013–2014) and the subsequent overthrow of the pro-Russian Yanukovych regime. This period marked the beginning of intensified hostilities, culminating in the annexation of Crimea and the establishment of pro-Russian puppet states in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014, followed by their incorporation into the Russian Federation in February 2022. In addition to providing a historical overview, the book examines the organization and structure of Russian influence operations. It introduces modernized concepts and offers a novel classification of 'influence operations,' exploring their connections to information warfare, computational propaganda, disinformation, cyberattacks, AI-generated attacks, and the manipulation of politicians and opinion leaders, among other tactics. This study presents a critical resource for understanding the multifaceted nature of Russian influence strategies in the contemporary geopolitical landscape.