Instrumentalized Crime in Russian Hybrid Warfare: Impact on EU Security. A Polish Perspective

• In Event: Organized Crime, Extremist Violence, and Insurgency

Abstract

Since 2014, Russia's aggressive foreign policy, culminating in the 2022 Ukraine invasion, significantly threatens EU security, particularly in former Soviet bloc nations. This expansionist policy, aiming to restore Russian influence, undermines EU cohesion and the international order. A key tactic is hybrid warfare, leveraging criminal networks to destabilize the EU and influence its policies. This instrumentalization of crime, both within and beyond Russian-speaking communities, represents a novel, escalating threat. Post-invasion, Poland exemplifies this "active measures" approach, with Russia indirectly confronting it via criminal activity to advance strategic interests. Crimes, sometimes financially motivated, serve broader RF political goals, creating a complex, asymmetric threat. This research investigates and analyzes the RF's exploitation of crime as a tool in its hybrid warfare against Poland and other EU members. This project was supported by the National Science Centre (Poland), PRELUDIUM-21 program (grant no. 2022/45/N/HS5/04118).

Author

• Szymon Michał Buczyński, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn/Poland