The participation of criminals in a hybrid war: a look through the prism of Ukrainian realities

The article considers the participation of criminals in the Russian-Ukrainian hybrid war. The publications of Western and national scientists are analyzed according to the problem chosen by the author. The lack of theoretical and empirical sociological studies on the involvement of criminality in the hybrid war is emphasized. It describes the empirical basis of the article, which presented the results of the author’s research conducted with the help of such methods as observation, informal interview and document analysis. The characteristics of domestic criminality are given, particularly in such forms as traditional unorganized criminality (persons committing any general and professional crimes), group criminality (group crime, including crimes committed by quasi-groups - unstable social groups), organized criminality (activities of organized crime groups, criminal organizations). The criminal potential of the Donbass as a resource of hybrid war is considered. The ways of involving criminality in participating in hybrid war are analyzed, in particular such ways as: recruiting through material incentives, recruiting through “mobilization”, engaging by choosing between two alternatives: imprisonment or participation in war, etc. The involvement of criminality in war and on its own initiative is considered. Particular attention is paid to the influence of Russian intelligence services on organized crime, in particular, the «thieves in law» with a view to their involvement in the hybrid war. It emphasizes the fact that most penitentiary institutions in the region remained in the temporarily occupied territories whose prisoners are the potential human resource of the hybrid war. The forms of participation of criminals in hybrid war are analyzed: participation in mass anti-government actions to destabilize the situation in the country, in combat actions, sabotage, terrorist attacks, etc. The role of criminality in worsening the criminogenic situation in Ukrainian society in the conditions of hybrid war is noted. The testimony of participants in events on both sides of the conflict regarding the involvement of criminality in the hybrid war is presented. The features of the fight against criminality in temporarily occupied territories are revealed in the conditions of transition from managed chaos to conditional social order.