Volodymyr NAKONECHNYI^

A hybrid war is an instrument of aggression that is used against a victim by various methods, the main of which are: military, political, economic and informational. The purpose is to destabilize the state with the further destruction of its sovereignty, annexation of the territory or for their own economic benefits.
In this article we will discuss about major threats of hybrid war, and what countries need to consider when developing their own defense strategy.
The most common method of hybrid warfare is so-called separatism. An aggressor country for some time prepares the ground for unannounced military invasion in another state, which consists of conducting various educational activities for public and political organizations, military schools for terrorist armed groups.
Under the scenario of the aggressor, initially, controlled media enter into action, whipping information in order to destabilize the situation in the region, and then, at paid anti-state rallies, public and political leaders are beginning to call for a fight against the authorities that are unwelcome to the aggressor. All types of threats, ultimatums towards the leadership of the country come into action. The next step is to capture state buildings, police departments, military units. The main work here is carried out by illegal armed formations, which allegedly act on behalf of local residents.
In the event that the state authorities do not agree with the demands of the terrorists, the aggressor country can take the next step, which is to proclaim political declarations of independence and the creation of an unclassified state. Simultaneously to this area include military units of aggressor country ”for maintain order” in the management of illegal armed groups and in case of counter-terrorism by authorities of the victim country.
If the fighting begins, the aggressor country plays two roles at once. The first is a closed unpublished war, the second is a game of a peacekeeper who tries to say that in the territory of the victim country there is a ”civil war” and only the aggressor, by its own armed forces, is capable of dividing the parties, bringing a long-awaited peace and stabilizing relations.
It is here that we need to think carefully about the next steps in the side of the protected country, since during the so-called ”civil war” and the introduction of ”peace-keepers” only one result is the annexation of the territory.
 Chairman of the Board NGO ”Center for Public Research – ‘ProInfo’”, Lviv, Ukraine