Priming, Destabilizing, Coercing: Russian Hybrid Tactics in Europe 2022-2025
Sponsored by the Airey Neave Trust
The Soufan Center, with the support of the Airey Neave Trust, undertook a project over 2025 and 2026 charting known or suspected Russian hybrid operations in Europe. The project culminated in a final research report which examined Russia’s hybrid threat activities in six European countries, with researchers identifying country-specific patterns, as well as collective strategies states and other actors can use to counter Russia’s contemporary practice of hybrid warfare. The report studied 255 hybrid incidents over four years, targeting six countries: France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Moldova, and Georgia. The report drew on an original open-source incident database, which was made available to the public, and 22 expert interviews with serving and former intelligence officials, government advisors, and leading academics.
The final research report Priming, Destabilizing, Coercing: Russian Hybrid Tactics in Europe 2022-2025 was published in April 2026. The findings and recommendations will be presented at an event co-hosted with the Airey Neave Trust in London in the Spring of 2026. The research project was made possible with the generous support of the Airey Neave Trust, building on TSC’s extensive collaboration with the trust for several years.