EPISTEMOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE MODERN WAR
Abstract
Ideas on the political nature, causes, motivations of the parties and the very essence of the Russia-Ukraine hybrid war of 2014–2022 are presented. Ideological preconditions, reasons and current consequences of the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine, as well as the evolution of the formation of the political and security doctrines of the ruling regime of Russia from quasi-liberal views to the expansionist concept of “restoration of historical Russia” and justification of aggressive war against Ukraine are considered.
The authors’ theoretical framework for examining the political nature, essence and causes as well as specificities of this war is based on the provisions of classic military theory as well as their further development. These fundamental ideas are gaining new relevance in the context of hybrid war with the simultaneous presence of elements of military confrontation pertinent to third-generation war and factors pertinent to the new type of sixth-generation war. Conclusions are based on an analysis of a number of conceptual documents by Russia’s leadership over the past 15 years.
References
Address by the President of the Russian Federation. (2022, February 21). Kremlin.ru. http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67828
A speech delivered at the MSC 2007 by the President Vladimir Putin. In Fillinger, T. (2019). The Russian outlook on security issues in speeches at the Munich security conference between 2007 and 2018 [online]. https://is.muni.cz/th/xlghl/. [Master's thesis, Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies]. https://is.muni.cz/th/xlghl/DP_Fillinger_Speeches.pdf
Bender, J. (2015, October 22). Putin: 'The streets of Leningrad taught me one thing'. INSIDER. https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-the-streets-of-leningrad-taught-me-one-thing-2015-10
Bostock, B. (2022a, May 10). Ukraine war: downed Russian fighter jets found with basic GPS ‘taped to dashboards,’ UK defence minister says. INSIDER. https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-su34-jets-basic-gps-receivers-taped-to-dashboards-uk-2022-5?module=inline&pgtype=article
Bostock, B. (2022b, May 12). Russia is resorting to putting computer chips from dishwashers and refrigerators in tanks due to US sanctions, official says. INSIDER. https://www.businessinsider.com/us-says-russia-using-chips-from-dishwashers-in-tanks-sanctions-2022-5?inline-endstory-related-recommendations=
Charbonneau, L. (2007, February 10). Putin says U.S. wants to dominate world. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-usa-idUSL1053774820070210
Declaration of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the Genocide Committed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine (2022). Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. https://itd.rada.gov.ua/billinfo/%D0%94%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BA(eng).pdf
Dickinson, P. (2021, July 15). Putin’s new Ukraine essay reveals imperial ambitions. Atlantic Council. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putins-new-ukraine-essay-reflects-imperial-ambitions/
Domańska, M. (2021, July 13). Putin’s article: ‘On the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians’. OSW. Centre for Eastern Studies. https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2021-07-13/putins-article-historical-unity-russians-and-ukrainians
Fubini, F. (2022, April 8). Sergey Karaganov: “We are at war with the West. The European security order is illegitimate”. Corriere Della Sera. L`Economia. https://www.corriere.it/economia/aziende/22_aprile_08/we-are-at-war-with-the-west-the-european-security-order-is-illegitimate-c6b9fa5a-b6b7-11ec-b39d-8a197cc9b19a.shtml
Into the heart of darkness – What Russia wants in Ukraine. (2022, April 06). EUvsDISINFO. https://euvsdisinfo.eu/INTO-THE-HEART-OF-DARKNESS-WHAT-RUSSIA-WANTS-IN-UKRAINE/
Kasianov, G. (2022, May 04). The war over Ukrainian identity. Foreign Affairs. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/ukraine/2022-05-04/war-over-ukrainian-identity
Kelaidis, K. (2022, April 04). The Russian Patriarch just gave his most dangerous speech yet — and almost no one in the West has noticed. RELIGION DISPATCHES. https://religiondispatches.org/THE-RUSSIAN-PATRIARCH-JUST-GAVE-HIS-MOST-DANGEROUS-SPEECH-YET-AND-ALMOST-NO-ONE-IN-THE-WEST-HAS-NOTICED/
Lossovskyi, I. (2018). Foreign policy strategy of Russia with respect to post soviet countries as implementation of the “new doctrine of limited sovereignty”. Strategìčna panorama, 2, 19–30. https://niss-panorama.com/index.php/journal/article/view/79/81 [in Ukrainian].
Lossovskyi, I. (2020). Russia’s strategy toward post-Soviet states as implementation of the new doctrine of limited sovereignty (Putin doctrine). Ukraine Analytica, 4(22), 8–17. https://ukraine-analytica.org/wp-content/uploads/Lossovskyi1-1.pdf
Lossovskyi, I. (2021). Transnistrian settlement: Ukraine’s contribution and experience for deocupation of Donbas. Strategìčna panorama, 1-2, 48–64. https://doi.org/10.53679/2616-9460.1-2.2021.03 [in Ukrainian].
MacDonald, C. (2018). The science of war: Sun Tzu’s art of war re-translated and re-considered. Hong Kong: Earnshaw Books.
Medvedev wrote an article about Ukraine and said that negotiations with its leadership are “pointless”. (2021, October 11). Perild. https://www.perild.com/2021/10/11/medvedev-wrote-an-article-about-ukraine-and-said-that-negotiations-with-its-leadership-are-pointless/
Motyl, A. J. (2022a, May 03). Tough Times Ahead for Russian Studies. Facts & Arts. https://www.factsandarts.com/current-affairs/tough-times-ahead-russian-studies
Motyl, A. J. (2022b, April 23). Is Putin’s Russia Fashist? Atlantic Council. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/is-putin-s-russia-fascist/
Murphy, M. (2022, April 25). Ukraine war: US wants to see a weakened Russia. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61214176
Public support for war against Ukraine is growing in Russia: 72 % of Russians currently back the war. (2022, May 30). Fokus. https://focus.ua/uk/voennye-novosti/517243-v-rf-rastet-podderzhka-voyny-v-ukraine-teper-takih-rossiyan-72 [in Ukrainian].
Putin: Soviet collapse a ‘genuine tragedy’. (2005, April 25). NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7632057
Question Relating to Measures to Safeguard Non-Nuclear-Weapon States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 255 (1968) of 19 June 1968. https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/Disarm%20SRES255.pdf
Serhan, Ya. (2022, February 27). Who is Vladimir Putin’s Revisionist History For? The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2022/02/putin-russia-ukraine-revisionist-history/622936/
Shorten, R. (2022, March 17). Putin’s not a fascist, totalitarian or revolutionary – he’s a reactionary tyrant. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/putins-not-a-fascist-totalitarian-or-revolutionary-hes-a-reactionary-tyrant-179256
Snyder, T. (2022, April 28). The war in Ukraine is a colonial war. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/essay/the-war-in-ukraine-is-a-colonial-war
Sternthal, S. (2022, April 14). Manifesto published in Russian media reflects Putin regime’s ruthless plans in Ukraine. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/manifesto-published-in-russian-media-reflects-putin-regimes-ruthless-plans-in-ukraine-181006
Transcript: Vladimir Putin’s televised address on Ukraine. (2022, February 24). Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-24/full-transcript-vladimir-putin-s-televised-address-to-russia-on-ukraine-feb-24
Transcript: 2007 Putin speech and the following discussion at the Munich conference on security policy. (2014, March 27). Johnson’s Russia List. https://russialist.org/transcript-putin-speech-and-the-following-discussion-at-the-munich-conference-on-security-policy/
Tyshchenko, K. (2022, April 14). Ukrainian Parliament has recognized the actions of the Russian Federation as genocide against Ukrainians. Українська правда. https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/04/14/7339618/
Von Clausewitz, C. (2008). On war. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford University Press.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.