Putin – the masked nemesis of the strategy of ambiguity |
| |
Authors: | Douglas Mastriano |
| |
Institution: | Department of Military Strategy Plans and Operations, US Army War College, Carlisle, PA, USA |
| |
Abstract: | Recent events demonstrate the complex and adaptive approach employed by Russia to reassert influence in Europe. The changing face of Russia’s strategy commenced in 2007 when it launched a crippling cyber-attack against Estonia. This was followed by a large Russian conventional attack against Georgia in 2008, occupying two large areas of the nation. 2014 witnessed the Russian annexation of Crimea where in just a week, Russia seized control of Crimea “without firing a shot.” The annexation of Crimea was rapidly followed by a Russian inspired and led subversive war in eastern Ukraine. The common thread among these diverse Russian operations is its use of ambiguity to confound and confuse decision makers in the West. |
| |
Keywords: | NATO Putin ambiguity Crimea Estonia Latvia Lithuania United States United Kingdom Ukraine Moscow Kremlin hybrid warfare unconventional warfare counterinsurgency Germany Poland Romania Hungary adaptation innovation Russia Europe EU |
|
|