What is a Hybrid War? Russia and Britain’s ongoing hybrid war, “You’re in WW3 today” warns warfare expert

Hybrid war refers to the use of non-conventional methods of warfare that can disrupt and destabilise an opponent without employing open hostility, examples include propaganda or tampering with essential resource supplies like fuel.

While Britain is not currently exchanging fire on a battlefield, it is becoming well-understood that the nation is under threat during this era of hybrid warfare. Recent reports of Liz Truss’ mobile, which may have contained sensitive information about the Ukraine war, being hacked by Russia or the recent attack on the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea that is under suspicion as an act of sabotage, endangering a UK already on its knees from an energy crisis, are but two instances of possible hybrid warfare.

The Epoch Times reported that Casey Fleming, the CEO of business warfare and counterintelligence company BlackOps Partners, spoke of hybrid war as so: “You’re in World War III today. It’s called hybrid warfare. We’re not aware of it, we don’t understand it. … But hybrid warfare, you’re in it, you’ve been in it, and it’s peaking, and it’s maturing at this point.”

But what is hybrid warfare exactly and has Russia declared hybrid war on the UK? Here’s what you should know.

News commentators are saying that Russia has declared a hybrid war on Britain.

What is a hybrid war?

Throughout history, war has typically been conducted on the battlefield between two separate states in a defined area of land. In the globalised world we live in today, however, this has changed - as technology advances so do our enemies who employ more sophisticated tactics of waging war beyond the traditional methods.

Hybrid warfare refers to modern and unconventional methods of fighting wars which can manifest across politics, economics and even cyberspace. According to NATO, hybrid warfare includes acts of terrorism, migration, political corruption and divisive propaganda to stoke hostilities within a country’s people.

Did Russia declare hybrid war on Britain?

More than 60 charities have written to the Prime Minister demanding more support for millions of UK households in fuel poverty.

Earlier this year, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov accused Western countries of launching a “total hybrid war” against Russia. Lavrov, speaking on the 80th day of the Ukraine conflict, spoke of the ‘hybrid war’ and how long it would last, highlighting the many sanctions imposed on Moscow by the West.

He said: “The collective West has declared total hybrid war on us and it is hard to predict how long all this will last but it is clear the consequences will be felt by everyone, without exception.

“We are no strangers to sanctions: they were almost always there in one form or another.”

How is hybrid war being waged on Britain?

Following Sergei Lavrov’s comments on hybrid war several instances of alleged sabotage have taken place, including the cutting of the Shefa-2 cables that connect Scotland, the Faroe islands and Shetland. This was played off as an ‘accident’ due to a ‘fishing vessel’ by some but it was noted that a Russian research vessel was in the same seaway and it is suspicious that two separate cables managed to be cut in the one day.

Only days after three fibre-optic cables were cut in the Mediterranean near Marseille disrupting Europe, US and Asia’s internet - another act of could-be hybrid warfare disrupting technology. Other instances like the attack on the Nord Stream, offshore natural gas pipelines which run under the Baltic Sea, demonstrate how hybrid war is evolving as this potential attack occurred outside the boundaries of conflict and exclusive economic zones of Germany, Poland, Sweden and Denmark, showing how damage can be done outside of war zones.

According to Reuters, the cuts in gas flows via the Nord Stream have driven up the price of Europe and Britain’s gas which is of great concern as the UK wrestles with an economic crisis. This is also why fracking has been a hot topic recently as some argue the gas extraction method could reduce the UK’s energy dependence but environmental activists protest it for its risks.

Who are Russia’s allies?

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted strong condemnation from governments worldwide, sparking the discussion of if we are entering a third world war, a great deal of news media spoke of Russia’s isolation yet others contend this by saying that the country, in fact, has many potential allies or geopolitical partners.

For example, prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany could be thought of as having a geopolitical partnership with Russia as reportedly the majority of the country’s natural gas (55%) was imported from Russia. Similar circumstances apply to other European countries and the UK who in 2021 received £4.5 billion worth of gas, oil and coil from Russia according to the parliament website.

According to a report by Globely News in 2022, here are some of Russia’s top allies or geopolitical partners:

Belarus

China

Kazakhstan

Armenia

Azerbaijan

India

Syria

Venezuela

Cuba