Stop overestimating the threat posed by Russia’s ‘new’ form of warfare

Jan 4, 2017

A Russian soldier directs a T-72B Russian tank onto a flat-bed truck shortly after Russian tanks arrived at a train station in the Crimean settlement of Gvardeiskoye near the Crimean city of Simferopol March 31, 2014. Russia is withdrawing a motorized infantry battalion from a region near Ukraine's eastern border, the Russian Defence Ministry was quoted as saying by state news agencies on Monday. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (UKRAINE - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR3JDNP

Russia's hybrid war is neither new nor particularly effective Image: REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

Sir Lawrence Freedman

Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King's College London

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Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes on Hizbollah's stronghold in southern Beirut July 14, 2006. Israel battered roads, mobile phone antennas and fuel tanks in Lebanon on Friday, inflicting further devastation on its neighbour's economy in reprisal for the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hizbollah guerrillas.

Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes on Hizbollah's stronghold in southern Beirut. Image: REUTERS/SHARIF KARIM

A part of the wreckage is seen at the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 near the village of Hrabove (Grabovo), in the Donetsk region July 21, 2014. Russia's Defence Ministry on Monday challenged accusations pro-Russian rebels were to blame for shooting down a Malaysian airliner and asked the United States to produce satellite images to support its assertions. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev

The wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17. Image: REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev

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