Russia's hybrid aggression as an instrument of geopolitical influence on African countries: conclusions for Ukraine

Abstract

Experts in the field of international conflicts focus on a threatening trend - increasing levels of aggression in Europe. Russia has been involved in all the high-intensity conflicts that have taken place in the region since the 2000s – the wars in Ukraine and Georgia, the limited wars in Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya, and the content of the conflict in Moldova. The Crimean crisis and aggression in Donbas have become a painful reaction to Russia's inability to lead the world leadership and structure a new world order. Modern foreign policy of the Russian Federation is based on the Soviet understanding of the geopolitical structure of the world in general and the European region in particular. Russia is making every effort to consolidate itself as a center of power on a continental scale and dreams of regaining the geopolitical weight of the Soviet era. The article analyzes the causes and consequences of the use of hybrid aggression, identifies the complexity of using military-political, economic, informational and international tools to influence the formation of the world order. The example of Russian aggression in the African region is considered and the ways of counteracting Russian aggression are offered to Ukraine.