Russian Cyber and Information Warfare in Practice: Lessons Observed from the War on Ukraine

Keir Giles's 61-page Chatham House assessment of Russian cyber and information operations against Ukraine since February 2022 is the most comprehensive single-author analysis of what the war has revealed about Russian information warfare doctrine and capabilities. The report examines why Russian operations failed to achieve their intended pre-invasion effects and identifies the Ukrainian whole-of-society resilience factors that account for this failure.

The failure analysis is the report's most important contribution. Understanding why Russian information operations underperformed in Ukraine provides crucial insight into both the limits of the Russian model and the conditions under which information warfare resilience is achievable. For practitioners working on Russian FIMI threat assessment and for policymakers designing resilience frameworks, this is essential reading.