New hybrid-war tactic emerges: flooding Ukraine's supporters with complaints

The concept of hybrid warfare has long covered a range of hostile actions that stop short of direct armed conflict but still exert pressure and cause harm to the targeted side. Its most commonly cited forms include cyberattacks against state and private-sector information systems, artificially created migration pressure, and disinformation campaigns designed to shift public opinion or undermine trust in institutions.

Now another form of such pressure has been identified. It takes the shape of targeted, large-scale sending of formal complaints and submissions to individuals, organizations or institutions that have expressed support for Ukraine. This approach creates an additional administrative and legal burden for the recipients, forcing them to spend time and resources responding to the submissions they receive, thereby indirectly disrupting their everyday work.

A tactic that is hard to spot

Unlike direct cyberattacks or overt disinformation, this method relies on formally legal tools — the right to file complaints and submissions. It is carried out on a large scale, creating a burden that exceeds the normal course of business. This makes the tactic harder to detect and counter, since each individual submission can appear entirely legitimate on its own.

This newly identified element adds to the already known set of hybrid-warfare tools and suggests that new ways are continually being sought to pressure Ukraine's supporters without resorting to direct military or violent intervention.