International Relations Researches

International Relations Researches

Strategic Ambiguity and Multidimensional Synergy in Russia's Hybrid War Against Ukraine

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
nooh davari 1
seyyed saeed seyyedi 2
seyyed mahdi miri 3
1 PhD student in International Relations, Islamic Azad University, Rafsanjan Branch, Rafsanjan, Iran
2 Graduated with a Master's degree in International Relations, Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, Iran.
3 PhD student in International Relations, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/irr.2026.547687.2771
Abstract
this study, focusing on Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine, the aim is to explain the role of strategic ambiguity and the multidimensional synergy of military, economic, cyber, informational and other instruments in facilitating Russia’s attainment of its political objectives. main research question is: in Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine, how does the use of strategic ambiguity and multidimensional coordination among these instruments affect Russia’s ability to achieve its political goals? The research hypothesis is that the employment of strategic ambiguity and multidimensional synergy among military, economic, cyber, informational and other tools within the framework of Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine, by creating a gray zone between war and peace, complicating the direct attribution of responsibility, disrupting the opponent’s decision-making process, and strengthening Moscow’s levers of pressure and bargaining, overall facilitates Russia’s achievement of its desired political objectives. study adopts a qualitative approach and a descriptive-analytical method, and is based on documentary data, official reports, military doctrines and secondary analyses. The findings show that Russia’s hybrid warfare, through the systematic use of strategic ambiguity, the involvement of formal and informal actors, the integration of battlefield operations with information-cyber warfare, and weaponization of economic and energy instruments, creates a gray zone between war and peace in which it becomes possible to manage tensions, increase leverage and advance political objectives without relying on the classical model of conventional warfare. Accordingly, hybrid model grounded in strategic ambiguity and multidimensional coordination functions as an effective instrument for advancing Russia’s political objectives in the Ukraine crisis.
Keywords
Hybrid Warfare
Strategic Ambiguity
Multidimensional Synergy
Russia
Ukraine
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