Samenvatting

Since Russia occupied Crimea in March 2014, the Western world has been searching for explanations how this operation was conducted and why it came as a surprise for many military and international relations subject matter experts. The Western media followed by NATO called the Russian activities a form of hybrid warfare, while the Russians spoke about non-linear warfare. One the most important elements in this way of warfare is informationally, meaning the content as well as the spreading of information. The majority of the Russian actions took place in the information domain. Deception warfare, being a substantial element of information warfare, generates surprise, one of the principles of war. Deception is most of the time a combination of hiding the truth (dissimulation) and showing falsehood (simulation). During deception warfare two variants are used: (1) ambiguity-increased or A-type deception, creating confusion so that the opponent is unsure what to believe, and (2) misleading or M-type deception, reducing ambiguity by offering only one attractive but wrong alternative. Russia developed its own methods of deception over time. Most Russian deception warfare is based on maskirovka, the reflexive control theory, agitprop and disinformation. These four elements were constantly used by the Russian government, secret services and armed forces during the conflicts in Crimea and Ukraines Donbass area in 2014, although Russia still denies every involvement in the latter operation.