«Information and Psychological Special Operations as an Element of Russia’s Hybrid War Against Ukraine»
Students Name: Kovalchuk Anastasiia Yevhenivna
Qualification Level: magister
Speciality: International Relations
Institute: Institute of the Humanities and Social Sciences
Mode of Study: full
Academic Year: 2023-2024 н.р.
Language of Defence: англійська
Abstract: Despite the fact that peace and security are recognized as key values of the modern international community, wars continue to be an integral part of interstate relations. The evolution of forms of confrontation between countries has become the reason why modern security threats are becoming more and more complex. The proof of this is Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine. In addition to the direct use of weapons, the Russian Federation also actively uses non-violent methods of achieving goals, among which informational influence plays an important role. Taking into account the relevance of the information threat in the context of the rapid development of communication technologies, the peculiarities of Russian information and psychological special operations as an element of the hybrid war against Ukraine become an urgent question for research, capable not only of reflecting the patterns of Russian aggression, but also of identifying ways of countering them. The work analyzes the essence of hybrid wars as a security challenge of the 21st century: approaches to understanding the term, the history of the use of unconventional methods of warfare, the features of hybrid wars and their structure [2]. Methods of interpretation of the concept of "informational and psychological special operations" are defined, their essential characteristics, as well as international and foreign mechanisms of countering informational influence are considered [1; 3]. Particular attention is paid to determining the specifics of Russian informational influence abroad, as well as a detailed analysis of the use of informational and psychological special operations of the Russian Federation in Ukraine as one of the tools of influence [5]. Finally, the Ukrainian system of combating information threats is described and practical recommendations for its improvement are given [4]. The object of the research is information and psychological special operations as an element of hybrid war. The subject of the research is the peculiarities of Russia’s use of information and psychological special operations in the context of its hybrid war against Ukraine. The purpose of the research is to carry out a comprehensive political analysis of Russia’s information and psychological influence and to distinguish the specifics of its role in the context of hybrid confrontation between the states. As a result of the study, it was found that, despite considerable attention to the problem of Russia’s use of hybrid methods of influence in Ukraine, the role of informational and psychological special operations in the complex of Ukrainian security threats remains understudied. In the process of analyzing the interpretations of the concept of "hybrid war", the absence of a unified approach was noted. It was determined that historically hybrid methods of warfare were used even in the confrontations of Antiquity and were gradually improving until our time. Modern hybrid wars were characterized and five instruments of influence (military, political, economic, informational and civil) were defined. Approaches to the interpretation of "informational and psychological special operations" were analyzed, and the special operations’ essence was determined as a complex of informational and psychological methods of influence. The specifics of IPSYOPs were considered by defining subjects, objects and channels of information transmission. The peculiarities of the main methods of informational and psychological special operations are defined and described. The mechanisms of counteracting the informational and psychological influence of the UN, NATO, the EU, as well as the foreign experience of the USA, Great Britain and China are analyzed. The specifics of Russian information influence on the internal and external audience, which are carried out by limiting access to information and increasing soft power, respectively, are determined. The specifics of Russian IPSYOPs in Ukraine in the period 2000-2023 were comprehensively analyzed, and their connections with other elements of hybrid influence were determined. The Ukrainian system of combating information and psychological threats is described. In the end, the need to strengthen international cooperation in the field of information security and continue to improve countermeasures against IPSO by improving legislative regulation, expanding the information presence of the state abroad and implementing educational programs was emphasized. Keywords: hybrid war, Russia, Ukraine, information and psychological special operations, IPSYOPs. References: 1. Zhadko, V. ta in. (2018). Hibrydna viina i zhurnalistyka. Problemy informatsiinoi bezpeky. Kyiv: Vydav. NPU im. M. P. Drahomanova. 2. Mahda, Ye. (2015). Hibrydna viina: sutnist ta struktura. Mizhnarodni vidnosyny, 3, 1-15. 3. Mehel, A., Yaremchuk, M. (2022). Vorozhi IPSO: yak vyznachyty ta protystoiaty. Kyiv: onlain vydannia. 4. Petryk, V. ta in. (2018). Informatsiino-psykholohichne protyborstvo. Kyiv: PAT «VIPOL». 5. Cullen, J., Reichborn-Kjennerud, E. (2017). Understanding Hybrid Warfare. Califronia: MCDC.