The Russian government’s deniable use of rogues, businessmen, enthusiasts, mercenaries, and political technologists confounded policymakers as Moscow waged a covert invasion of Ukraine in 2014. In this book talk, Wilson Center Global Fellow Anna Arutunyan will present analysis from her new work, Hybrid Warriors, which draws on unique interviews, reporting from the conflict zones, and wider on-the-ground research to trace the trajectory of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine from the 2010s to the present. Arutunyan argues that by analyzing relationships between civilians, non-state actors, and the Kremlin in Ukraine in 2014, audiences can better understand why the international community was unprepared for the Kremlin’s sudden and brutal military escalation in 2022.

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